James O’Brien

Abstract image of woman floating in pink waves

Abstract image of a face emerging from DNA helix

Abstract image of young person emerging from a back ground of multi-color shapes

Stylized image of a man with different red shapes drawn on his body, floating through a sea of blue shapes

Abstract image of a head, facing 2 different ways

About James

James O'Brien is an award-winning, Minneapolis-based illustrator who creates illustrations for an extensive and diverse list of advertising and publishing clients in the US and abroad. James began his illustration career using traditional painting and drawing media and now brings that aesthetic and creative approach to the work he creates using digital apps with his desktop computer and tablet. James's work incorporates hand-made texture, utilizing a long-developed method combining digital painting and collage. His work is often witty and just as often contemplative, through the use of visually enigmatic conceptual solutions.

List of Clients

AARP, American Express, Barron's, Boston Globe, Christianity Today, Chronicle of Higher Education, Delta Airlines, Design Bureau, Habitat, Harvard Magazine, John Hopkins, Kiplinger's, McGraw-Hill, Microsoft, New York Magazine, New York Times, Oxford American, Pollen, Quanta, Scholastic, Smithsonian, StarTribune, Target, Time, Tufts, Village Voice, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Wiley.