A about a week ago, I received an email from someone who wanted to share the works her father had created years ago. I often will receive cold call emails and messages asking to see lots of art, in fact I love it! But I had never seen art like this before, or was not prepared to hear the story of how this email was to wind up in my inbox.
James Ash, whose works you’ll find here, always wanted to be an art teacher. For various reasons, including addiction, mental health, and living without internet in the Michigan woods, he never became a teacher. But that didn’t stop him from making some jaw-dropping art.
In 2021, James Ash passed away at the age of seventy-one. Months later, his daughter, singer/songwriter Anna Ash had the task of cleaning out his cabin in the woods and deciding what to do with all of his belongings, including over two dozen large, colorful, surreal, and enigmatic paintings.
It probably would have been pretty easy for Anna to throw them into the dumpster. No one else really wanted them. As she explains in her unpublished telling of her relationship with her father and his paintings, they had an up-and-down relationship throughout his life — as is all too common in families who experience addiction and mental health struggles. But there was something intimate about these paintings, something special that needed to be saved and shared with as many people as possible.
“The death of an absent parent, and an addict parent, hits like a wind. You don’t fall over immediately – you just stand there, taking it. You knew it was coming. Eventually, it’s too cold or too strong or too full of sand for you to stand, but at first, it’s just wind, pushing you around and drying you out because it’s hard to miss what was never there.”
— excerpt written by Anna Ash from her unpublished book “My Father’s Paintings”
The works speak for themselves, but paired with Anna’s book — which I was fortunate enough and very grateful to read — helps fill in a lot of blanks and tells the story about the life of James, his imperfect life and art-making, as well as Anna’s remarkable quest to bring peace to a tumultuous relationship with her father and his works that no longer fit comfortably in her apartment.
Stay tuned for updates on the publication of Anna’s book and a potential Los Angeles exhibit of James Ash’s works of art. Thanks to Anna Ash for saving and sharing these works.
All works created by James Ash, acrylic on wood from circa 2009-2021
Party at the Airstream
Monoplane
Woman on Fire
Untitled (The Art Studio)
Untitled (Mr. T & the Ladies)
Rockfest
More works painted by James Ash:
Every day you can find a brand new piece of folk, self-taught, outsider or visionary art from one of the leading museums, galleries, and collections from across the world. For even more art, follow @folkartwork on Instagram and be sure to subscribe to the “This Week in Outsider Art” newsletter on Substack for two opportunities a week to see even more art, views of my personal collection, finds of the week and a list of must-see shows from across the country.
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