about james

Greetings,

My name is James de Blas.

My journey with art began in 1991 when I travelled to the epi centre Byron Bay, where I tried to drum up interest with the artist collective there for my children’s stories I had been writing with my girlfriend Jenny. Instead they persisted in encouraging me to draw myself and so began my journey as an illustrator and visual artist In 1993 I began my first picture book “The Dinosaur that Loved to Touch”, then “The Golden Grasshopper”, then “The Blue Hairy Boy”. Finally followed by the “Psychiatric Superhero”, a ten year project and experiment in making my mark in the world of mental health. I have recently completed an illustrated novel in magazine format called “The Psychiatric Superhero”. Also I must mention my still life work that was all done in one evening for each work that skilled me up as an oil painter that began at the same time as the psychiatric superhero and sold like hot cakes. Providing me with my first solo show at the Legge gallery in Sydney.

In 1978 I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and would be subsequently hospitalised every year for the next fifteen years. I made a marathon effort to develop my insight into the Illness abstaining from recreational drugs and alcohol. I have also honed my skills as a mantric thinker and meditator practicing for an hour each day .That began twenty three years ago and I have been clean all that time. I have also not had a hospital admission in all that time. Twelve years ago I began painting for my illustrated novel in oil on canvas. I have some sixty paintings and they are featured in my illustrated novel. “The Psychiatric Superhero”. I presented a working introduction to the “Psychiatric Superhero” at the World Hearing Voices Congress both in Melbourne, Australia, and in Thessaloniki, Greece. There was much interest and enthusiasm for the work.

I have tried to make the work more about uncovering pathways to the light. While it is a story that reaches deeply into the void that is schizophrenia, I have used myth and surreal landscapes to try and make sense of a most strange and formidable illness, rather than focus on darkness. The overall message is one of hope. The schizophrenia diagnosis and phenomenon is not necessarily a life sentence. The story arms the reader with insight, skills and a positive view on psychosis. It presents my own hard won wisdom on ways to battle the negative psychosis, not to feed its lust for war, but to bring the negative entity and the positive to work together toward quelling the fear and creating global and universal healing.

Last year I nearly died from a thickening of the heart muscle associated with breathing. Now I’m on lifelong medication that enables me to function normally. During that time of crisis, when I felt death was immanent, I made the decision to devote the next ten years to illustrating and writing children’s books that were about the attaining of the wisdom through laughter.

I hope that you enjoy my work.

James de Blas