Jim L’Oste is an ocean-based artist living in the Adelaide Hills, which he has made his home since immigrating to Australia from the UK in 2006. Ever since childhood, Jim dreamed of living a life in Australia.

His path through life has been diverse, working for fifteen years offshore in the oil and gas industry, traveling the globe extensively, followed by nine years as a stay-at-home dad caring for his two daughters. He recently turned back to his natural ability for art and started a new profession as a “fish artist.” He passionately immerses himself in experimentation with watercolours, pencil work and acrylics. Different papers and printing as a medium play huge roles in how he creates his work. Finding a balance between them allows his work to flow naturally, drawing the eye into minuscule details, colours and tones in each fish.

“I am so inspired by ocean species because of my experiences working at sea, as well as years of enjoying the pleasures of fishing. I use DANIEL SMITH Watercolors because they make my subjects literally pop! I especially like the Duochrome and Quinacridone colours to add depth, iridescence and most importantly, tone to my work.”

Jim also designs apparel and signage for fishing tackle companies and produces custom, hand-embellished art prints for fishermen of their trophy catches, sometimes creating the fish identically to scale.