ART BY a former Bradford College student has been chosen to grace the walls of a house in the popular ITV soap Emmerdale.
Work by environmental artist James Owen Thomas caught the eye of the TV show’s design team, who selected various pieces for one of the homes in the fictional village.
“It was very exciting - I was invited to the set of Emmerdale in Leeds," says James. "I wouldn’t have believed how a television set can be transformed into someone’s house - there is so much thought that goes into designing it."
Three pictures have been used: The Pigeon, Chalk Cliffs and Night Owl.
"I thanked the staff for allowing me to look behind the scenes. It was great to see my artwork on the walls.”
A number of Christmas cards designed by James, who is known for using discarded items such as scratch cards in his work, also featured on the Emmerdale set over the Christmas period, on display in David’s shop.
Gillian Slight, head of design at Emmerdale first encountered James Owen Thomas’ work when he was a teenager. “I was drawn to the vibrant colours and the local subject matters which made his work a perfect fit for one of our Emmerdale sets. James’ artwork has since adorned the walls of the Tug Ghyll set which is the fictional home of Tracy and Nate.
“Modern vibrant and with intricate details and textures give the work a contemporary feel which works really well on camera. With James being a local artist, it was an added bonus.”
James, who lives in Pateley Bridge, recently hosted two workshops, one at Blossom Home Care in Harrogate.
“We used a mixture of recycled materials to collage gift tags and magnetic pegs. I demonstrated how to make the most out of old Christmas cards, used scratch cards, donated fabrics and unwanted packaging materials. They were given new life when used in our artwork," he says.
“Everyone enjoyed themselves and remarked how therapeutic my form of art is for their wellbeing."
The second workshop took place at Mackenzies Farm Shop in Blubberhouses, which raised funds for Maggie’s Yorkshire, one of a network of centres across the UK offering cancer support. The Yorkshire centre is based at St James’s Hospital, Leeds.
“We made photo collages, greetings cards, fridge magnets and collaging gift tags using recycled materials such as discarded lottery tickets and shredded Christmas cards," says James.
“The group really enjoyed ourselves and we managed to raise £100 for Maggie’s.”
He adds: "My latest woodland scene has been made almost entirely from strips shredded from Christmas cards, that I soaked overnight in tea so that they would give a more organic colour with less bright whites, but still very glittery."
*James’s work is on show at The Yorkshire Arboretum, Castle Howard, York from March 22 to April 28, 2024.
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