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Jim Nelson was born in Shreveport, La. in 1951, and when he was three
months old, his family moved to the oil fields of west Texas, eastern New
Mexico, and southern Oklahoma. They traveled from town to town every few
months following local oil booms before finally settling in Midland, Texas
when he was about five years old. There he attended public shools, graduating
high school in 1969.
His earliest memory, at the age of two, is of drawing a picture of the
man in the moon. He showed an early aptitude for drawing, and doodled his
way through school. His first grade teacher, Mrs. Thompson, was an artist
herself, and had a major impact on Jim's artistic life. He seldom took formal
art classes in public school, however, preferring the freedom of self-education.
He learned to paint and draw by copying the old masters and the modern
science fiction artists of the 50's and 60's, such as Chesely Bonestell,
and Virgil Finlay. His later influences were Arthur Rackham, Winsor McKay,
and Howard Pyle.
He majored in art in college and pursued this for 3 1/2 years (plus
1 1/2 years of acedemics) at Texas Tech University and the University of
Texas. It was here that he met another great influence on his career, Dr.
Richard Byrne, a professor of drama, who taught Jim the importance of pursuing
one's dream.
Finally, frustrated with bureaucratic mix-ups and delays, he quit school
in 1973 just short of a degree, and immediately started selling his work
at street markets, arts and crafts fairs, science-fiction conventions and,
beginning in 1975, renaissance festivals. These festivals became Jim's
preferred source of business for the next 28 years, as he valued the freedom
of not having to deal with galleries and stores, and of being able to sell
his own work directly to the public from the privacy of his own shop. They
also provided him the opportunity to travel frequently and to spend most
of his time outdoors and away from city life.
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