Welcome to my art for fun and well-being website. The name comes from two different events. The first time I used the name I was teaching art classes, which were great fun and good for well-being, hence the origins of the title. This was followed with a book using the same name. I am a writer and psychotherapist living in rural Australia. I am a painter and I create Gothic, shaman, medicine and horka dolls. My art reflects my love of all things mystical and intriguing. I live on a rural property in Gippsland, Victoria with my trusted cat named Sheba. I was born with art in my blood and raised in England by a very talented family. I began experimenting in my own art while I was still in High School. Later good fortune allowed me to study painting with a pupil of Oskar Kokoschka who ran a famous art school in London’s trendy suburb of Notting Hill. My love of art took me into a job in the film industry where I met my first art patron the Baroness Maura Budberg, who became my friend and my inspiration both as a writer and artist. While still in my teens I spent time in Morocco and I became interested in Islamic art for its technical skills and geometrical intricacies. Also Islamic art is a shared experience of community creativity. A few years later I moved to South Africa where I was very influenced by tribal sculptures and in particular, the medicine dolls that were used in ceremonies and to heal the sick and change the troubled thoughts of individuals. This was the start of my interest in art dolls. Of course dolls have been around for centuries, not just as childrens’ toys, but also as companions and as healing tools for people of all ages. Dolls tell us a lot about the history of places and people in our vicinity as well as those in far off lands. The medicine doll has been particularly popular throughout the centuries and it has been frequently used in psychotherapy practice. Similarly, the arts of drawing and painting have been crucial in the role of psycho-therapeutic healing, where the recipient transfers the workings of the mind into a self-created image. Today, we call the leaders of these groups art therapists. It is not a title I favour, I believe art makes people their own therapist. People and dolls were my main topics for a long time until I started painting flowers. I have a wonderful garden which gives me inspiration. The healing properties of art and gardens in all their forms are only limited by the imagination. I hope you will find interest, hope and inspiration among these pages of art, dolls and commentary.
Are you interested in owning one of my works? Perhaps you would like a personalized doll or a painting made to reflect your character? Maybe you have other reasons for wanting to contact me.
If you want to visit my studio or you wish to contact me for any reason here are my details: Dr Chris James. Mobile: 0411797396. Email: doctorchrisjames@gmail.com Address: P.O. Box 118, Welshpool, Victoria, 3966. Australia.
If you would like your own personalized doll, go to the page titled ‘personalized dolls’ answer the questions and send them to me in an email. Alternatively, you can contact me on the mobile number 0411797396
Any payments can be made to my paypalme/doctorchrisjames@gmail.com account.
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By the way, I work to support refugees who are incarcerated in the most awful conditions across the world’s refugee camps. Many have been in the camps for over thirty years, Many are suffering from malnutrition due to a lack of food. Many are sick from a lack of clean water. There are no proper services and the camps are often riddled with dangerous terrorists from neighboring countries. People are suffering, many are dying. If you can help, please do so by posting “free the refugees” on social media. Go to www.doctorchrisjames.com for more information. My work honours all those who are suffering and in need of comfort and help. Thank you for your support.