Bio

I was born in Chicago in 1970 and raised in one of its suburbs known as Park Ridge. I had a great childhood, spending most of my time either on sports or school, but mostly sports. I guess my interest in art began at my desk in the corner of my room, coincidentally the subject of my first painting. I would spend hour after hour at that desk drawing my favorite hockey players like Doug Wilson and Murray Bannerman, trying to catch the action while placing some saying behind them such as “Man of Steel.” Nothing was more cool to me at that time than this. Strange where it all starts sometimes, isn’t it? Although several people (mainly family members) said I had skills in drawing, I never took it seriously. I enjoyed the process of drawing more than the outcome itself, and a lot more than when people actually saw the work. Never did it cross my mind that one day I would have a career in the arts.

After finishing high school at Maine East, I went to Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, where I majored in Industrial Technology; I had a dream of owning my own print shop. However, this dream quickly faded when my first printing class did not quite live up to expectations. I knew I enjoyed the planning of the graphics however, so I decided to change majors and become a graphic designer. This was when I moved to the Department of Art.

In the graphic arts program I did enjoy the challenge of creating interesting and stimulating graphic designs, but I liked my painting and drawing classes more. I also did not have the patience or the precision needed to achieve the level of quality I expected from myself at the time. Once again I decided to change majors, dropping graphic arts and taking on the world of painting and drawing.

I wasn’t very good. Everyone seemed to have a style or technique that I liked better than my own. My stuff was nice, but I guess I wanted more from myself. Before I could find what that was it was time to graduate.

Like many college graduates before me and since, I was soon faced with the great question, “Um, now what?” I tried many different things as I waited tables and tended bar for the next five years but nothing seemed to fit. Through a series of random occurrences I looked to teaching to fulfil myself and my desire to give something back.

After tremendous luck and good fortune I ended up at Lake View High School on Chicago’s north side, where I taught for the next ten years. It was a good job, in the end I think I learned more than I taught, but something was going unfulfilled within me. So with something tapping me on the shoulder I decided to, again, move on.

Today, I pull out the paints each day and put what is inside me down on canvas, and that is what you have before you in the galleries here. I hope you like the work and that you have a chance to come to a show. Lastly, thanks for listening to the story and taking the time to visit the site. Enjoy,

Jim

PHILOSOPHY

The philosophy behind my paintings and drawings is an attempt to capture the beauty found that we usually hide from the world. I believe there are moments when we let our guard down momentarily, allowing everyone to see who we truly are, letting everyone beyond the public facade and into our heart, a moment of pure beauty. Sometimes these moments are found on a train, on a city street, or some random location with someone you do not know. But mostly it is in a place and with a person that you are familiar with, and at that moment you forget everything while you wait for your heart to start again. Overly romanticized? Maybe. The truth? Absolutely, and I will always keep looking for it, because honestly, that is all I want to see.