We all have memories of a special holiday or Christmas. The little girl in my image will always remember this Christmas and her favorite gift. The holidays are a wonderful time of the year. I love the sounds and the smells and the expressions on peoples’ faces. Everyone celebrates the holidays in their own way and in their own faith. It’s a time of forgiveness, a time to reflect and a time to be with the ones we love. – JD

JIM DALY (1951- ) Born in Oklahoma, and living in several states while growing up, Jim Daly experienced many of the scenes that appear in his paintings. After his discharge from the Army in 1960 and with a growing family to support, he worked in the defense industry. He kept his dream alive of becoming a professional artist by painting long into the night. Daly enrolled in the Art Center College of Design and soon began selling his paintings. He was finally able to give up his “day job” and concentrate full time on his artistic career. His early images often featured images of the four boys he and wife Carole raised. Now Jim”s favorite model is grandson Trevor. He lives and works in the Eugene area of Oregon.

“Emotion is probably the key to everything I do. An emotionally conceived painting is going to project itself to the viewer more than a painting where your only interest is in shapes, and forms and brush strokes. They all have their place; they are all important in making meaningful art, but I don”t see anything wrong with telling a story. I try to keep the story understated. I don”t want to overstate and give the viewer too much information. I want to pull back a bit and leave something to the viewers” imagination so they can participate in the painting and make their own discoveries.”

Jim’s paintings of American genre are represented in many private and corporate collections and have received numerous awards. His paintings also appear in the permanent collections of the Favell Museum in Klamath Falls OR, the U.S. Marshall Historical Society, Fort Lauderdale FL and The Old West Museum in Cheyenne WY. Articles about Daly have appeared in Southwest Art, Art West, Art of the West and American Artist magazines. U.S. Art magazine named him a “Hall Of Fame” inductee in 1992, and listed his limited edition print “Favorite Gift” as the number 20 best seller of that year. Daly was also named as one of the top 20 favorite artists in a U.S. Art magazine poll of gallery owners. He is also listed in Contemporary Western Art, published by Southwest Art. Print publishers Mill Pond Press and The Greenwich Workshop, and now Gallery One, have reproduced his work in limited edition prints (and giclees) for nearly 30 years.

Daly has toured across the U.S. and Canada giving lectures and seminars about his art and he has taught at the Scottsdale Artist”s School. He is also an elected member of the Northwest Rendezvous Group of Artist”s. His paintings were used as book illustrations in “Mother, I Love You” published by Baker Book House Co. and “Sugarbush Spring” published by Lothrop, Lee and Shephard, a division of William F. Morrow (now Harper Collins Publishing). “Sugarbush Spring” was selected by the Ohio Farm Bureau to receive their 2002 Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Award for Children”s Literature. A number of his books have been published by Harvest House including “What Little Boys are Made Of” and “Mother Do You Remember When.” Several of Jim”s books have sold well over 100,000 copies. In addition, foreign editions have been released.

OTHER AWARDS: Jim has won the Mill Pond Press Award and “People’s Choice” Awards at the Western Rendezvous of Art; Peoples Choice Awards in 1981, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2002 and 2007; and The Favell Museum’s 1993 Western Heritage Award for excellence in portraying realistically and accurately early Americana. In 1993, he was the winner of Gallery One”s People”s Choice Award at Masterworks in Miniature.