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Jim started his artistic journey with a simple manual film camera.  In his quest to become an accomplished photographer, he learned all he could about the art of photography.  Honing his skills, he has photographed the country from one end to the other.  He always has a camera close at hand to capturre the magic moment whenever it appears. Many of the skills learned have translated well to painting.  For example, he still thinks in terms of the Ansel Adams' Zone System when evaluating values in a scene.

Jim's venture into the world of oil painting began while he was enrolled in law school at the University of California, Berekely.  Lack of funds required creative solutions for Christmas presents that first year.  Unable to even afford to have a photo enlarged and framed, he bought cheap white sweatshirts and four colors of acrylic paint.  He then painted scenes of Sedona, Arizona and gave the sweatshirts as gifts to family living in Sedona. ​Surprised by the fact the painted clothing was so well received, Jim continued painting, switching to oils as they allowed him more time to work wet-on-wet. Other than a few Adult Ed classes (thanks Gary Bergren) he has had no formal training.

Jim feels his talent for painting portraits in oil is a gift from God.  It is easy to see why when one sees his original efforts at drawing faces. Jim describes these efforts as "worse than Picasso on hallucigens."  His wife took a picture of their granddaughter that captivated his imagination. Thinking it would make a good painting, Jim decided to try to put it on canvas. The results were amazing!! No viable reason explains how he instantly went from lousy to fantastic, except that God blessed him with this ability.

In all of his work Jim seeks to reveal the divine light of the subject whether it be an apple, a young child, or the Grand Canyon, all for the glory of God.

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