Background
My career was in the private business sector from start to finish in sales and sales management. Along life's byways I dabbled in art by taking a drawing class here and there. Although I felt like I had a latent talent for art there was very little extra time to spend outside a business career, an active family life and a myriad of hobbies and interests.
Fast (way) forward to a relocation to Roseville, California in 2005 when I decided to take an art class at Sierra College. One class led to several and while taking classes my wife Barbara and I started volunteering at the local Placer SPCA to get our dog fix. From there our life went to the dogs in a hurry. We were "Foster Failures" and adopted Carrie. I did a drawing of Carrie and the rest is history. We typically refer to our previous life as B.C. "Before Carrie". Almost everything has changed since then and it feels like a new "Passage" in life. My primary focus has been drawings of dogs, cats and horses but I've also added the human factor as clients have inquired about being included in the drawing with their pet. Another request was for a Snow Owl, a pet bird and an old baseball glove. Jim can draw just about anything, within pencil reasoning!
Media: Although I have worked with oils, charcoal, pastels, pen & ink and colored pencil I found that I enjoy the graphite pencil as my favorite tool for "Spot On" drawings. Perhaps more than any other media, pencil is the most commonly thought of. Mention drawing, and people immediately think of the common pencil. It is the simplest and one of the most difficult to master.