James Surls was born in Terrell, Texas. He graduated from Sam Houston State Teachers College in 1966 and from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1968. He taught at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX from 1968 to 1976. He then moved to Splendora, TX with his wife and
artist-Charmaine Locke, where he founded the Lawndale Alternative Arts Space at the University of Houston in the late 70’s. Surls currently resides and has his studio in Carbondale, CO, where he has lived since 1997. His sculptures, drawings and prints, which reflect his unique sensibility to natural forms, are in major art museums and public and private collections throughout the world.