Paging (Not Stalking) James Hoyle — Christopher A. Lane

I’m not stalking James Hoyle. Okay, so I’ve written to him several times (snail and electronic), attempted to contact him through his website, tried to contact him via Facebook and by way of his gallery. Once I even visited his studio with the intention of meeting him (he wasn’t there). But it’s not stalking.

Sure, I’m crazy about his art. I’ve snatched it off the internet and it occupies its own folder on my computer. (If you’re wondering, his photo did make my office wall of fame.) And yeah, I’ve tried for years to replicate his style. But stalking...? He’s never answered my communiques. So I’m assuming he’s not annoyed by the attention. I’m mean, I haven’t received a restraining order. Yet.

Not stalking.

There are a handful of artists whose creations I’m enthralled by and who have inspired my own art. James Hoyle is one of them.

I would describe my enthusiastic appreciation for his talent and work as just that: enthusiastic appreciation. There are a handful of artists whose creations I’m enthralled by and who have inspired my own art. He’s one of them. Just behind Van Gogh, a rung or two above Pollock, on par with Matisse, Monet, Sandoval...

You don’t have to know Hoyle’s story to admire his landscapes. But it does make them that much more intriguing. Born in Nashville in 1947, he studied art in high school. After graduating, he attended the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, earning a bachelor’s in Fine Art before moving to New Orleans. He made his first trip to Hawaii in 1977 and quickly fell in love with Kauai.

Coincidentally, Kauai also had that effect on me. I’ve had the opportunity to visit several times and, given the proper funding (i.e. winning Powerball with play), would move there this afternoon. If you’ve never been, imagine a tropical paradise filled with stunning waterfalls, lush rainforests (the second wettest spot in the world is on Kauai), and incredible beaches, surrounded by an ocean that offers great boogie boarding, surfing, and snorkeling, and where rows and rows of palm trees sway in the gentle trade winds... Oh, and there are a bazillion roosters wandering around, crowing at all hours. But that’s not the point. The point is: Kauai is as close as you can get to Heaven on Earth (with the exception of the roosters).

My introduction to Hoyle came on a trip to the Garden Island back in the ‘90s. There was a visitor’s guide in our condo that had a stunning painting on the cover: an old sugar cane plantation, backed by the ocean. There was a wild sea of flowers in the foreground, along with four palms and a blazing yellow tree being whipped by the wind. The sky was sizzling with purple, blue, and yellow projectiles. It was incredible! I was immediately hooked. I wanted to know more about this James Hoyle guy.

When I finally saw more of his work, I had the same reaction: Wow! A few weeks later, I found myself sitting at our kitchen table back home, madly trying to mimic Hoyle’s work with oil pastels. Over the course of the next few decades, I attempted to imitate his paintings using colored pencils, soft pastels, acrylics... The results varied greatly, with many miserable failures. To this day, I have never achieved that same Van Gogh meets Pissaro look that makes his work so amazing.

Strangely, despite my lack of success, I have never stopped trying. I gave Hoyle-ishness a shot just last weekend - a piece that started with great promise before going down in flames.

To this day, I have never achieved that same Van Gogh meets Pissaro look that makes his work so amazing.

Hoyle’s work has been described as exuberant, full of energy and light, and as featuring “cascading riots of color.” Someday, I hope to garner some of those same descriptors for my own work. Until then, I plan to keep experimenting, playing around, looking to James for inspiration, my respect for his work ever growing.

And, unless that restraining order shows up, I will continue attempting to contact him. Not only would I like to express to him how much I enjoy his work and what it has meant to me as an artist, I also plan to tell him about this great idea I have: Since he’s getting up there (74 by my calculation), he needs an exit plan. I’d be willing to help him out with that.

I volunteer to travel to Kauai and let him teach me his technique. I’m willing to spend as long as it takes in paradise learning from the master. Then, down the road, when he’s ready to hand off the baton, I’ll be ready to accept it - all in the interest of keeping his unique, colourist style alive.

In case you’re wondering, the idea for this blog came from the book Steal Like an Artist. In one of the chapters, author Austin Kleon says, “I recommend public fan letters. The Internet is really good for this. Write a blog post about someone’s work that you admire and link to their site. Maybe your hero will see your work, maybe he or she won’t. Maybe they’ll respond to you, maybe not.”

So James - If you happen to read this (I’m hashtagging you, buddy), reply in the comment section below. We’ll get in touch. We can start working on that succession plan. James...? James...? Hel-lo...??

(Insert the sound of roosters crowing.)