raised in Houston, Texas; played with paints in the back room of his parent’s art supply and interior decorating store; had a vision when he was eight years old of a sculptor painting and recognized himself in that image; Jim said that he never consciously decided to become an artist, yet always had the desire to paint; attended the University of Houston, paying for his education with revenues from the paintings he sold, and majored in Economics; developed a flare for business and, after graduating, opened a gallery in Houston; inspired by Picasso whom he said lived in "voracious curiosity,"; experimented with many styles and media, from body painting to portraying sporting events