Jim began formal art training in 1969 while in seminary in Covina, California. At that time, California Adult Education had remarkable evening classes taught by remarkable artist. At that time it offered classes on figure drawing, anatomy for the artist, still life drawing and painting and portrait drawing and painting. Jim took all these classes for several years. His skills developed, especially in portrait painting. Art was his avocation, but he remained in weekly portrait painting and figure drawing workshops for over 25 years. He eventually taught two weekly portrait classes for Adult Education over a 10 year span. He has entered numerous juried shows and has won many awards for his portraiture. He retired in 2018 and moved to Aberdeen in 2021 where he built his studio and devotes himself to his painting. His interests are in composition, form and values.  Values are everything. To paint quality portraits, one must master the structure and anatomy of the human head plus the anatomy of each feature. He enjoys teaching portraiture and is hoping for opportunities to teach locally.