James Johnson Ruddle is a Canadian artist, born in Hamilton, Ontario, on July 8, 1981.[1] Ruddle currently lives in Pickering and works in the medium of Performance art, Christian Art, sculpture and burn painting.[2] While at McMaster University, as a third-year fine arts student, he lived in a box in the atrium of the McMaster University Student Centre.[3]
In 2007, James began to work with a burn painting technique and was first shown at the Art Gallery of Hamilton at an annual Art Sales and Rentals Show in 2008.[4] In 2007, Ruddle spent three days painting inside the performance art cube in the foyer of Keswick High School.[5] James began his journey into the realm of Christian art when he completed a 32-foot triptych mural titled The Light of This Broken World. The large burn painting, created through a process of burning the images onto wood using gasoline and a blow torch, was installed in the sanctuary of Forest Brook Community Church in 2010.[6]
On March 31, 2014, while teaching at Bill Crothers Secondary School, he completed a 16 by 20 Foot mural of Wayne Gretzky with 12 grade 11 students in a style similar to Chuck Close.[7]
In 2015, Ruddle created a 6,000 square foot mural called Shifting Landscapes on a drab rail bridge at Henderson Avenue and Glen Cameron Road in Thornhill.[8]