James "Bud" Bottoms is a native Californian who lives in Santa Barbara on the Pacific ocean. His inspiration is the sea and the majestic and frolicking mammals who live in it. Dolphins, seals, whales, and otters are his major subjects, and he delights in trying to capture their spirit in his sculptures of everlasting bronze. Other creations are inspired by intimate human relations including mother and child, and the joy of newborn life.
As a grandfather, he also likes to use his grandchildren as models to combine with sea mammals. In doing so, he hopes to express our interrelationship with all animals. His creations are playful expressions of pure joy! But he is quick to acknowledge that his finest creations are his four actor sons Timothy, Joseph, Sam, and Ben. He is internationally famous for his marine mammal fountains and monuments in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Toba City, Japan, and Dingle, Ireland. nationally, they can also be found in Los Angeles, California at the Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children, the Long Beach Aquarium, Monterey Plaza Hotel, Malibu's Michael Landon Park, and as Santa Barbara's ocean-front landmark.

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