James Davis was born in Scotland in 1944. He studied contemporary painting at the Glasgow School of Art between 1963 and 1967. He specialised in drawing and painting under the tutelage of Scottish artists William Armour and David Donaldson. For more than 40 years James Davis's paintings have been exhibited extensively with the Royal Glasgow Institute (RGI), Royal Scottish Watercolour Society (RSW), Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) and the Paisley Art Institute (PAI). James Davis was elected to the RSW in 2003. James Davis paintings are predominantly landscapes, figurative work and portraits. Davis paints in both watercolours and oils. Davis has been the recipient of many art awards for his contemporary paintings including the David Cargill Award; RGI in 2003 and the Reid Kerr Painting Award in 2005. James has established a strong following with leading private and corporate art collectors of contemporary Scottish art. These include: HRH The Duke of Edinburgh; The Royal Collection; Holyrood Palace; King Hussein Family Private collection; Vatican Commission Scott's College Rome; Glasgow City Chambers; Merk Finance; Arisaig Holdings, Singapore and Strathclyde Education Authorities. His paintings also featured in many private contemporary art collections in the UK, Canada, USA, Italy, Holland, France, Switzerland, Australia and Tasmania.