We recently had the privilege to visit Chuck Jones GALLERY at Anaheim Garden Walk. Numerous American pop artists have been showcased here, but today we had the good fortune to meet a humble man who has spent a good portion of his life in the background. Now, it is our deepest pleasure to proudly to present scenic painter extraordinaire James Coleman!
If you watched any Disney feature films produced from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, chances are high that you've seen JAMES COLEMAN'S work on screen. When James wasn't performing background color studies, he was producing the immersive settings that our favorite heroes and villains traversed.
One of James’ earliest projects for Walt Disney Studios was Winnie The Pooh and Tigger Too. Pictured : Our “silly old bear” gets lost in one of James’ countless “hundred-acre-wood” backgrounds produced for the film!
Mickey’s Christmas Carol featured a number of interior shots, with some of these backgrounds provided by James Coleman of course.
Rescuers (1977)
A study of Tod in the forest created for The Fox and the Hound (released 1981).
Fox and the Hound (1981)
The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
This “thumbnail” was mainly produced as a color study for The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
The Black Cauldron (1985).
The Horned King’s Lair from The Black Cauldron (1985).
At one point, he was promoted to head of the Walt Disney Studios Animation background department, a position which he enjoyed for several years. With the advent of CAPS and other technological developments (around the time of Beauty and the Beast’s release), James was starting to feel the strong gusts of change which began to blow through the world of animation production. It was at this moment that James felt it was best to pursue his fine art craft.
Georgette’s home as featured in Oliver & Company
Please feel free to touch the following picture and scroll through a few of James’ Rescuers Down Under backgrounds.
For practically his entire life, James has captured still scenery in various mediums. We were curious as to which (present) painting James most enjoyed working on. James pointed to a panoramic piece called "Sunset Regatta". When asked WHY he enjoyed working on it so, he surprisingly answered “because everything is in motion"!
James never really formally left Walt Disney Studios. For the next few years, James made multiple trips to Hawaii while promoting his paintings of waterfalls.
James love of Walt Disney Studios subjects has led him to produce fine art works currently sold through Disney Parks worldwide. From Snow White to Star Wars seemingly no scenery is out of bounds for James.
It's pretty amazing "for a kid who hadn't been to art school...and never really having any formal education except for what I got there (of course) with the greatest artists ever", as James candidly explains. So how did this all happen?
WATCH the 7-minute interview below, as JAMES COLEMAN shares the satisfying and inspiring answer to that question!
James has recently tried his hand at the landscapes of a Walt Disney Company acquisition - the diverse and exotic settings of George Lucas' original Star Wars trilogy!