SHOW JUDGE
Jim Hutchinson, MFA
View his work at jimhutchinsonart.com
After earning his BA in Commercial Art 1989 from Pensacola Christian College (PCC), Jim became an illustrator/designer for A Beka Book® publications, the worlds largest publisher of Christian textbooks, where he spent the better part of 15 years designing and illustrating curricula for all levels of education. Meanwhile, as an adjunct professor at PCC he taught digital publishing, design, drawing and illustration. His desire, however, was to continue his education in classical painting and after 5 years he decided to go back to school to earn his Master of Fine Arts (a terminal degree) in the reputable “Master’s with the Masters” program at Marywood University in Scranton, PA. During the pursuit of his M.F.A., Jim had the opportunity to work with and be mentored by many of the New York illustrators such as Peter Fiore, (former president of the Society of Illustrators) Jerry Contrares, Fred Brenner and well-known designers such as Steven Brower of Push Pin Studios and past editor of Print magazine. Jim’s studies culminated in 1996 with a one man show which included over 80 designs, illustrations, gallery paintings and fine portraits.

In 2000, Jim had the opportunity to commission and coordinate the painting of PCC’s presidential portraits by master portrait painter, Joe Bowler. (Bowler’s portraits have graced the covers of magazines such as Time and the Saturday Evening Post and has painted portraits of such notables as President Eisenhower, Roger Staubach and Jackie Kennedy-Onassis.) Jim benefited greatly from Joe’s guidance during this time and credits Mr. Bowler with infusing a new vibrancy into his color palette and solidity to his compositional work. As a result of his interaction with Mr. Bowler, Jim was tasked in 2003 with producing a 3 DVD set on the life of Mr. Bowler entitled “Joe Bowler: American Master Portrait Artist”, a product that can still be purchased through Joe Bowler’s website today.

Over the last 30 years, Jim has split his time between being a family man, painting, writing and teaching. He continues to hone his painting skills with fine art and portrait commissions and has had various works published. Today, many of his fine art oil paintings are hanging at the Creator’s Brush Gallery® in Hebron, Kentucky. Dayspring Cards® has featured Jim’s paintings in multiple inspirational calendars and he has painted official portraits of Dr. William Dean, M.D. for DBU’s Dean Learning Center, Dr. Henry Morris II, Dr. Henry Morris III, and Dr. John Morris for the The Institute for Creation Research® (ICR) museum. In 2017, he had the opportunity to create historical museum paintings for the The Ark Encounter® in Hebron, Kentucky and in 2019 he was asked to paint 4 commissioned works for the Guidestone Financial® high-rise in north Dallas, including the companies “mission” painting which now hangs in the CEO’s reception area.