Jim Gardner

Jim Gardner does outsider art, like the art of kids and the insane. Jim has had no formal artistic training; even so, he began to paint in 2000 and without much trouble discovered his own style. He hasn't promoted himself or his art much. However, his paintings have been displayed in coffee shops, a mall, a mental health center and a couple galleries. Jim’s influences are Picasso, Basquiat, Warhol and modern art in general, as well as the band Black Sabbath.

Jim has always been creative. In middle school he played Jesus in the musical Godspell, and the figure of Christ finds its way into many of his paintings. In New York City, Jim did magic and escapes like Houdini, as a street performer. Once, he escaped from a straight jacket upside down from a Calvin Kline billboard in times square. He published The Ironyng Board, a book of dark ironic poems and he incorporates some of the poems into his pictures. Jim also was a singer, songwriter and guitarist in the Bells, a New York City hard rock band. Jim wants his art to be something like a Black Sabbath album, not like pretty flowers or happy trees. Jim is also in Andy Warhol's last book, America. Jim would like to be represented by a gallery and hopefully be discovered.