James was born in Glasgow in 1958 and after a career in the Civil Service gained a place as a mature student at Edinburgh College of Art in 1999. He was awarded the Heriot Watt University award for outstanding merit in his first year and received his BA (Hons) in painting from ECA in 2004.

In 2005 James was awarded the Peter Potter Gallery Trust Award.

His subject matter is varied and James uses a whole range of materials in his working method. Within this variation, however, he regards the aesthetic quality of the finished work paramount.

He has exhibited at various galleries throughout Scotland and at the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), Royal Society of Watercolourists (RSW), Paisley Art Institute (PAI) and the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts (RGI) annual exhibitions. In August 2006 he was elected a professional member of Visual Arts Scotland (VAS). He is also an Ordinary member of Society of Scottish Artists.

A regular exhibitor in numerous galleries, his work is also now in many private collections.