James O’Brien is a practicing illustrator and artist whose client list includes: American Express, Bank of America, Colgate, Rand McNally, Microsoft, Delta Airlines, Sears, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, McGraw-Hill, Scholastic Press, Smithsonian, Business Week, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Newsweek, US News & World Report, Computer World, PC Magazine, Interactive Week, Entertainment Weekly, Wine Spectator, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The New York Times.

His work has been recognized by American Illustration, The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, 3X3, PRINT, The Society of Publication Designers, SBS Digital Design, AIGA, and SILA.

He is Assistant Professor and Chair of the Illustration Department at The College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, Minnesota.

MFA Illustration, University of Hartford, 2008

MA Illustration, Syracuse University, 2006

BFA Graphic Design/Illustration Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 1989