ABOUT JIM

 
I was born and reared in the West Texas oilfields.  While not exactly the art appreciation capital of the world, it did spawn my "old school" work ethic, morals, and independent spirit.  Being born (1949) with a last name like Ford has the potential to make one a candidate for sainthood.  I have been called everything from "fix-or-repair-daily" to "fairlane" to "chevy". Life isn't easy with a name like Ford, but I've managed to survive.   My favorite hobbies are genealogy, sports cars, gardening, and photography.  I love my God, my wife and kids, art ,author Tim O'Brien, Rachmaninoff, and blackberry cobbler.  I've been labeled (at one point or another) a liberal, a conservative, a you-know-what, a romantic, a dreamer, and much worse.  And I've recently retired from my "day- job",  so I finally have lots of time to draw.   Things are looking up!  

I'll not try to impress you with a long list of achievements, renowed artists I've studied under, or professional organizations I'm a member of.  I don't have any!  What I do offer is a desire to please my clients at  reasonable prices.  If I don't please my client, who cares about my artistic pedigree?  I would hope my work stands on its own.  My motto is, "under promise and over achieve".

I've gravitated to drawing as my medium because of its simpilicity.  Paper, pencil, and an idea--how simple is that?  Yet, from the humble pencil a myriad of possibilities can be realized.  I like its butterfly delicate sensitivity, the possibility of cloudy soft renderings, and the subtle photographic details that can be achieved.

"I think one's art goes as far and as deep as one's love goes.  I see no reason for painting but that.  If I have anything to offer, it is my emotional contact with the place where I live and the people I do",  Andrew Wyeth.