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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2016)
8 Wednesday, January 20, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Painting at Mach One Jim Horsley is also notably humble. Correspondent Horsley started painting Sisters resident Jim eight years ago, though he Horsley flew 120 combat has been sketching for most missions in an A6 Intruder of his life. On a recent trip to over Vietnam. He is a former visit his 92-year-old mother, member of the Blue Angels, Jim was sorting through a humanitarian, a husband, a boxes when he found one of his earliest sketches, a crayon drawing completed when he was in the first grade. It was a Thanksgiving draw- ing, he says, com- plete with parad- ing turkeys, and “It wasn’t bad,” he said, with a self-deprecat- ing laugh. As a Blue Angel, Horsley spent untold amounts of time hanging upside down at ludicrous speeds, and notes that this experience photo proviDeD helped him tremen- “Peekaboo” depicts Pancho and cinder red, dously when learn- rescued donkeys at Harmony Farm Sanctuary. ing to become an art- father, an author, and a man ist. With a nudge from a les- of abiding faith. He is also an son in the book “Drawing on artist — and a good one — the Right Side of the Brain,” though he won’t tell you that. by Betty Edwards, Jim’s first For a man with a laundry step on the trail to becoming list of accomplishments that a painter was a drawing com- would make most of us blush, pleted by working it upside By craig rullman photo proviDeD “Bliss!” is a 10x8 oil painting. down. It was an old man carv- ing three wood ducks. Jim was so shocked and pleased by the result he couldn’t wait to show his wife, Sonya, who was equally amazed. “As important as that prin- ciple is in drawing,” he writes in his book “A Different Kind of Courage,” “I had an opportunity to find that it had broader applications.” Though he had no formal training in oil painting — and as passion to serve others and to create art grew in him — Horsley signed up for a work- shop at a Ben Franklin crafts store. “Which was totally unlike me,” he says. “I didn’t even have any materials. The instructor came over and showed me a few brush strokes and that was it.” He was hooked from that moment on. After the Navy, and a career in commercial real estate, Jim began his deep commitment to humanitar- ian causes, working with the international Christian relief organization World Vision. This work sent him on doz- ens of humanitarian missions, from North Vietnam to West Africa. And it would be impossi- ble to miss how these experi- ences inform his paintings. “I have to have a personal connection to the subject mat- ter,” he says. After volunteering at nearby Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch, Jim has completed many paintings of horses. He says with a laugh, “If you’re gonna live in horse coun- try, you better learn to paint horses.” Horsley considers himself a representational artist, and cites as influences the artists Richard Schmidt, John Cook, and Tom Browning. The pleasure Jim finds in painting is also rooted in his Smile, Sisters! We’re committed to your dental health! Exceptional Health, Prevention & Aesthetics Ben Crockett, D.D.S. photo by craig rullman Jim Horsley is an artist and a community volunteer. Christian faith, and the idea, of accomplished paintings in which he holds close, that his studio, there are people all he is creating value for oth- over the world who believe ers each time he finishes a Jim Horsley’s passion has painting. made a difference. “I have a great passion,” Horsley’s work is currently Horsley says. “I work hard at on display at Sisters Gallery it but it doesn’t feel like work, & Frame Shop, and his work and I don’t like to not get it will be represented in the right.” Sisters Library Art Show, with At the same time, he says, proceeds to benefit Harmony after years of working hard to Farm Sanctuary. His paintings properly order his personal can also be seen on his web- priorities, “I have to be mind- site, www.jimhorsley.net. ful of why I got into it. My identity isn’t what I do. I’m not a Blue Angel and I’m not an artist. I’m just Jim. I have a pas- sion and a purpose for some things that hopefully make a difference.” It seems fair enough to say that after a lifetime of service and giving to others, from water projects in Senegal to public speaking engagements with local school chil- photo proviDeD dren, and with a growing portfolio “North Korean child” is a 9x12 oil painting. SPRD SPRING CATALOG Released February 1 Check out all of our upcoming spring programs and start getting registered! SHOOTOUT 2 February 13&14 Come watch youth basketball action at Sisters HS & MS! Fundraiser for Sisters Basketball. LITTLE LEAGUE REGISTRATION Taking Little League registrations now! Call 541-549-2091 or drop by the offi ce. 1750 W. Mckinney Butte Rd. | 541-549-2091 View activities & classes and register online! www.SistersRecreation.com SNO CAP MINI STORAGE p 541-549-9486 f 541-549-9110 410 E. Cascade Ave. • P.O. Box 1027 • Sisters, Oregon 97759 Hours: Mon., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Tues.-Wed., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; Thurs., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sisters Industrial Park 157 Sisters Park Dr. • 541-549-3575 www.SistersStorage.com • State-of-the-art Security Technology • Sizes from 5x5 to 12x40 • Individual Gate Codes • Long-term Discounts • On-site Manager
