Born in Springfield, MA, Jim joined the Peace Corps in its first year and was assigned to Venezuela. There he became immersed in the culture and taught himself Spanish as the Peace Corps had not yet developed a language program for its trainees. Upon returning to the US he attended art school at UMass, earning his MFA. His time then was divided between painting and teaching Spanish, which he did for the Peace Corps in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. In 1975, he came to New Mexico to establish the Spanish language program at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, which he ran for 20 years. After temporarily retiring from painting in 1988 to raise two incredible daughters, Jim returned to the easel in 2015. He continues to paint and teach Spanish in Santa Fe.

Jim’s sources of inspiration are the landscapes and cityscapes in which he has had the good fortune to reside. His focus ranges from the expansive vistas of the great plains to the minutiae of lettering on road signs along Rt. 66. While referencing American artists such as Edward Hopper and Thomas Hart Benton, Jim’s original and compelling compositions reflect the beauty of dilapidated buildings, the possibility of open spaces, and the care with which the artist observes the world.