James Skene was born on 7th March 1775 at the family home of Rubislaw in Aberdeenshire. Following the untimely death of his brother, James inherited the estate aged 16, although he went to Germany as a young man to study at university.
By profession, Skene was a lawyer, being admitted to the Scottish bar in 1797, however he was also a keen and talented amateur artist. Around the time of his admittance to the bar, Skene formed a close friendship with Sir Walter Scott, with Skene volunteering for Scott's Light Horse Regiment. Amongst his oeuvre, Skene produced A Series of Sketches of the existing Localities alluded to in the Waverley Novels, illustrating Scott's works. Scott valued Skene as a friend, dedicating the fourth canton of Marmion to him in 1808:
'Eleven years we now may tell,/ Since we have known each other well;/ Since riding side by side, our hand first drew the voluntary brand;/ and sure, through many a varied scene, unkindness never came between...'
The friendship between Skene and Sir Walter Scott seems to have been a creative collaboration and Scott used many of Skene's illustrations as inspiration and aide memoires for his descriptions of landscape and scenery.