Jim Nelson

Jim Nelson was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. Jim studied graphic design and composition at Elsie Frank’s School of Art in Tampa, Florida. Later Jim furthered his education in Architectural Drafting at the University of Miami.
After many years of designing and building custom homes, Jim returned to his love of drawing. He creates original art using watercolor, colored pencil and pen and ink. His main interest and skill, however, has been in the art of scratchboard.

Scratchboard is a challenging medium in which the artist creates intricate designs in black and white. The art board itself is composed of a hard board coated with white porcelain clay. The entire board is then covered with a thin layer of black India ink. Using a sharp-pointed instrument to remove the ink from the surface, the artist reveals the distinctive designs in the white clay below. This technique requires careful planning, and leaves no room for errors.
Because of the fine lines created by the instrument, details such as hair, feathers, and other textures enable Jim’s creatures to come alive.

Jim Nelson, Ink on Clayboard

Jim Nelson, Ink on Clayboard