A native Californian, James Crandall attended U.C.L.A., Pierce College and the Art Center College of Design. He graduated from Art Center in 1981 with a B.F.A. Awarded with Distinction. He has since worked as a freelance illustrator in the advertising industry, including creating storyboards and pre-production art for clients such as Lexus, Honda, Jaguar, Bank of America, and Paramount Studios. His finish illustrations have appeared in publications for Hughes Aircraft, Acura and Rock & Track Magazine. His work is included in the book “50 Years of Road & Track: The Art of the Automobile.” He began a serious study of printmaking in 1988, and his etchings have since appeared in several national juried shows.


In recent years, Crandall and his wife have made extended trips to visit his mother’s family in Italy, and as a result he has been producing a body of work depicting scenes of daily life near his grandfather’s hometown of Lucca, in Tuscana.


Concurrently, he has been working on a series of paintings portraying the “car culture” of Southern California, ilustrating the figurative scenes to be found at local car shows, race courses and car club events.


James Crandall is an Artist member of the California Art Club.