The Studio of Jim Rey

Jim Rey has painted in a variety of studio spaces: a bedroom, an alcove, a family room, a garage, even a rented room in a country motel. And he happily did so, as he pursued his dream of becoming an artist, after working in commercial art for several years and later in the computer industry. In 2012, Rey finally was able to claim for himself an actual studio at the home he shares with his wife Sharon in Durango, Colorado. It was a long time coming, but it was well worth the wait.

Rey had started painting in the early Seventies, while living in the San Francisco Bay area. He was thrilled, when a gallery in Carmel, California, and another in Taos, New Mexico, began to carry his work. In 1976, with his confidence boosted and his dream within reach, he and Sharon decided to move, but had no idea where they wanted to be.

“We rented a motorhome and went all over the Western United States, looking for a place to live,” he says. “Coming back from Santa Fe and Taos, we went through Durango, liked it right away, and moved here a few months later.”