Laura James is an award-winning artist with Antiguan connections. Like many of that era, her parents eventually emigrated to the US and raised their family in Brooklyn, New York where Laura was raised. The main themes of her work centre around religious subjects and iconic visual dramatisations of Bible stories found in Ethiopian Christian art, however her work extends to non-secular works using vibrant colour, intricate patterns and family imagery.

Born and bred in Brooklyn, NY, Laura James is a self-taught painter of Antiguan heritage. Ms. James is best known for her illustrations in the Book of the Gospels lectionary published in 2000 by LTP on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. An award winning edition of the four gospels, the book includes 34 paintings rendered in the Ethiopian Christian Art style, which over the years Ms. James has made her own. Groundbreaking in that it shows Biblical figures as Black, the book is now being used by numerous Christian denominations around the world.

Visit her website at www.laurajamesart.com, on her MySpace page, or hear the artist for yourself, giving a very in-depth interview for ABS TV right here in Antigua.