The oldest of nine children, Jim Holehouse was born in the town of
Coshocton, Ohio in 1950. Although interested in fine arts from a young
age, he decided to pursue an education in engineering, and later
attended the University of Cincinnati. During the grueling winters, Jim
had a vision of sunshine, palm covered beaches, and tropical winds… the
time had come to leave the Midwest behind.
Jim relocated his life to south
Florida, where he attended the Gold Coast sailing school, and then began
teaching sailing. As a result, he wound up chartering many trips to the
Caribbean and South America. It was during this time that he began an
endless fascination with the tropical destinations, the sea, and surrounding
architecture. He began working in the watercolor medium, attempting to
capture the vivid color, emotion, and spontaneity of the tropics. And
all who are familiar with Jim’s work will attest that he has indeed
captured that feeling in nearly thirty years of original works. By
1976, Jim and his brothers John and Tom had founded Tropic Art Design in
Orlando, FL, handling all publishing and distribution, framing,
and shipping of Jim’s fine prints and originals to a worldwide
audience. And since its inception, Tropic Art has grown to be a fixture
in the central Florida art community, one of very few must-see galleries
in the area. Jim’s work has been sold and collected for nearly thirty
years, and the value of the paintings from this master watercolor artist has increased along with his
growing popularity.
The
amount of work and
thought it takes to create one original is astounding. Here we see a
pre-sketch of work in progress. Pictures are taken of the landscape,
ideas are drawn out, sketches are made time and time again, a final
image is growing, and an imagination is born again.
After all the pre-planning, the
paint
comes out and the hard work of laying out an idea becomes a spectacular
rendering of things past, present, and a hopeful future.
"Eau Gallie Harbor"
