Soft-spoken
and modest,
Jim Daly
would seem a
reluctant
celebrity.
Still, his
tender
and
nostalgic
portrayals
of children
have earned
him a wide
and ardent
following
among
collectors.
Born in
Oklahoma and
raised
throughout
the West,
Jim
developed an
early
appreciation
for the art
of Norman
Rockwell and
at a
young age
knew he
wanted to be
a painter
himself. He
can
recall—and
his parents
still
own—a
painting he
did at age
13 of an
old-fashioned
barbershop.
“Even
back
then,” he
says, “I had
an interest
in the past
... and I
still prefer
the
warm
palette I
used then.”
After a
stint in the
army in the
mid-1960s,
Jim
studied
nights at
the Los
Angeles Art
Center
College of
Design while
working
days at
an aerospace
company.
Within just
a few years,
he was able
to devote
himself
entirely to
his art. His
wife,
Carole, and
their four
now-grown
sons
frequently
modeled for
him. Jim’s
paintings
are
represented
in many
private and
corporate
collections
and have
earned a
wealth of
awards,
including
the Favell
Museum’s
Western
Heritage
Award for
excellence
in
portraying
realistically
and
accurately
early
Americana.
Articles
about Jim’s
work have
appeared in
Southwest
Art,
American
Artist and
Art West
magazines
among others
and in a
recent
U.S. Art
magazine
poll,
gallery
owners named
him one of
their top 20
most
popular
artists. Jim
has also had
the pleasure
of
illustrating
three well-
received
children’s
books. He
and Carole
currently
make their
home in
western
Oregon.