Bringing Disney to Life

The story of how native Californian James Coleman landed a job as a background painter at Walt Disney Productions reads like a screenplay for a heartwarming, kid-done-well Disney film. He started at the very bottom, securing a job in Disney’s mailroom when he was just 19. But then he entered a painting in a Disney Studio art competition. The rest, as they say, is history.

During his two decades at Disney, Coleman worked on some of the company’s best-known animations, including Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. But in the end, Coleman decided to follow a different dream, transitioning away from Disney to become a full-time fine artist.

Coleman still receives inquiries seeking his technical expertise with animated film production. While flattered, he continues to pursue his unyielding passion as an artist working in the Impressionist style. His preferred mediums include oils, watercolors, gouache, and pastels—much like the painters that he most admires, including Monet, van Gogh, Renoir and John Singer Sargent.

Coleman employs a vivid color palette and uses it unreservedly, whether he is creating invitingly lush landscapes, views of Monet’s Garden at Giverny, France, fields of poppies in Provence, the legendary city of Venice at twilight, sailboats tacking across sparkling ocean water or highly intriguing streetscapes. Not surprisingly, Mickey and Minnie Mouse also make appearances in the artist’s paintings on occasion. Coleman says his extensive experience with Disney is reflected in the work he is making today, which qualifies it as “genuinely unique” in his book.