Long before he became an artist, Jim Wilcox juggled three loves: product design, architecture, and painting. Because his high school didn’t have an art program, he funneled his creative energy into drawing horses and later competing in the Model Car Competition. He won third place in the auto design competition, which challenged boys to create the car of the future.

“I did that for two years—1959 and 1960—and won the smallest award you could win, which was third place in Colorado, where I lived at the time,” he says, adding with a chuckle that there were probably only three contestants both of those years. “I got better than average marks in styling, but lower than average marks in craftsmanship, because I spent so much time doing the design that I ran out of time to make it real, as some of the other guys did.”

Jim Wilcox

Winter’s First Gentle Touch
Oil
20″ x 30″

“Even a relatively simple subject can dazzle, if the light is bright.”

Jim Wilcox

Geyser Basin Contrasts
Oil
20″ x 30″

“Frosted trees are more heavily frosted in the Geyser Basins, and steaming algae-colored water forms intricate patterns visible even on the coldest days.”