Jim's interest in art was inspired by his grandfather who was a landscape artist in Quebec. This, combined with Jim's love of the countryside and nature, has created a passion for landscape painting that allows Jim to express the beauty of the natural world through his art work. In Jim's words, "Painting landscapes is a wonderful medium to allow one to appreciate the hidden colours that can be found in nature." Jim's landscape paintings reflect a bold, impressionist style, using vibrant colours to express the rich beauty of the Canadian landscape. Jim is continually inspired by the works of Tom Thomson, The Group of Seven and Rene Richard.
Jim's landscape paintings are primarily scenes from the Eastern Townships region of Quebec and the Ottawa/Gatineau area. He is predominately a "plein air" painter and enjoys the solitude of painting in situ. Even if he is without his paints, Jim always travels with a sketch book: "I seem to be able to recollect where and when each sketch was done and what the weather conditions were at the time."
Jim and his wife Carol live in Ottawa and have a son, Gregory, and a daughter, Andrea. Jim often brings their dog Boca on field trips when he does much of his painting and sketching.