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The Maritime Art of James A. FloodWho is James Flood? |
Introduction:James Flood is a South Florida maritime artist and historian whose primary works are of sea-going vessels, usually portrayed in an historic context. His paintings have earned international recognition and can be found throughout the world in galleries, museums, private collections, books and magazines, and a few motion pictures. An artist by birth and by heart, James is easily recognizable in his period clothing, handlebar mustache, and vintage replica hat.And for those who want to know more... |
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Poised on a singular stretch of land on the north bank of the Miami River, the home of Maritime Artist James A. Flood frequently reverberates as Jim's thunderous baritone competes with low-flying aircraft, bridge traffic and river barges. The piano can scarcely be heard. Cats of various color and attitude endlessly navigate the bougainvillea-draped landscape. It is a place of curious charm, where much has been created or modified by Jim with the same restless passion that drives him to paint ships and build ship models. Two old friends, Franz and Gretchen (Blue Volkswagon Beetles, 1968 and 1969, respectively), better known as Jim's mobile trademark, inhabit the carport. Duchess, a 14-foot motor launch, designed in turn-of-the-century elegance, resides near the bridgehouse fence. Local residents are familiar with the sight of her lapstrake hull gracefully cutting through the river's water, leaving only the whisper of a wake. Towering near the bank of the river is a buff yellow boat crane. In the early evenings a small group gathers, often near the small pool overshadowed by the huge backyard ficus tree, where Jim might be found commissioning one of his ship models for a test run. |
| The Royal Charles, a 26-foot yawl, is docked on the river's edge, apparently unconcerned with the continual passage of traffic from the nearby bridge. She is surely the most loved of vessels, having been conceived and built by Jim to resemble her seventeenth century icon, the Royal Charles of King Charles II. Painted primrose buff and cornflower blue, double-masted, and decorated bow and aft with hand molded sculptures reminiscent of the restoration period, Charles can be seen many Sundays heading down river towards Biscayne Bay. On days that the mood strikes her, she proudly brandishes her towering British flag. |  |
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Born on the fourth of July in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, James Flood has been sketching an painting from the time he was able to hold a crayon. Restless and distracted at school, he stubbornly persisted in developing his talent, much to the dismay of his family. Often he escaped his studies and instead traversed the local creeks and waterways of Philadelphia to navigate the ship models he built in stolen hours. Today, this dogged loyalty to his art is manifested in the staggering amount of work that he has produced. Joining the Navy in 1967, Jim served on the Laffey, the Wright, and then as quartermaster on the U.S.S. New Jersey. This was a dream come true. Captured on film from a recent visit to the U.S.S. New Jersey, a reminiscent Jim slouches against the wall of the fifth deck room where he had formerly spent much of his free time painting and playing the piano. Apparently, not even a war could deter Jim from his passions, and the image from one of his works painted during this passage was used as the end covers for the U.S.S. New Jersey history book. The painting itself remains at the naval Historical Museum in Washington, D.C. Jim's work is on display at the Naval Institute in Annapolis, the Wiley Post Museum in Oklahoma City, the Olympia Memorial in Philadelphia, the battleship Alabama in Mobile, the Biscayne Bay Harbor Pilots Association in Miami, the Washington Historical Museum, the Queen Mary, the Mystic Seaport, The U.S.S. Texas, the U.S.S. New Jersey, and the Historical Museum of South Florida, as well as on the bridge of many cruise liners. Jim's art has appeared in the Naval Institute's Naval History Magazine, Steam Boat Bill, the Journal for the Steamship Historical Society of America, Pictorial Histories, Sea Classics Magazine, Preston's, and Military History Magazine. His clients include the former governor of New Jersey, Christie Todd Whitman, as well as actor Sylvestor Stallone and tennis champion Gardner Mulloy. Singer Rod Stewart has collected most of Jim's works in either gicleé or lithographic format. In 1996, he was invited to visit the Duke of Edinburgh aboard the Royal Yacht BRITANNIA in order to present his painting of the yacht to the Duke's Trust. His paintings have been used in the sets of a 20th Century Fox film, Speed Two and at a Memphis Exhibition on the Titanic in 1997, as well as on the set of Frasier. New Florida on WPBS ran a piece in February of 2002 displaying his artwork and lifestyle. He is an accomplished musician and an avid maritime historian. President George Bush was presented with a print of Jim's USS Texas in the White House in 2002. Jim has recently completed seven paintings for the Queen Mary 2: Shamrock V, 1935 and Britannia and Other Yachts Off Cowes, 1912 both display in the Commodore Lounge. Queen Elizabeth in New York Harbor, Queen Mary 2 in the Solent, Queen Mary 1936 Speed Trials, Arran Mile, and Queen Elizabeth 2 at Sea images can be viewed alongside each entry staircase to the 3 Deck's Illumination's Theater. Queen Mary 2 Maiden Sunrise, Monarches of the Sea (depicting the historic tandem voyage of Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2 in April of 2004), and Scion of a Noble Line (depicting the first meeting of the Queen Mary and the Queen Mary 2 in Long Beach California, February of 2006), will be available as a signed prints aboard the Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth 2 onboard book shop Ocean Books.
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