The Mature Works

by Jim Stratton

artist Reception:
Thursday, February 5, 2026
from 5:30 - 7:00 pm

Artist Statement:

This marks my fifty-eighth year painting in oils on canvas. I began in my junior year at Hartsville High School with Ms. Jeri Mixon.

In the years that have followed, I have been an illustrator in the Air Force, a staff artist at a newspaper, earned an Associate Degree in Drafting and Design Technology (FD Tec), a Batchelor of Arts from Coker College, taught art at FD Tec for 25 years, classes at many other venues including Black Creek Arts Center, and private classes at my home studio for over thirty years.

My career in art has included doing thousands of oil paintings, countless graphite and pastel drawings, water color and acrylic paintings. I have written seven books and have illustrated a few along the way, also. In my early years I painted signs, designed logos, and did many architectural renderings of local homes and businesses. I served as a Docent at the Florence County Museum of Art, History, and Science in Florence for four years.

Much of my art is inspired by nature and my travels across the U.S., Canada, London, Tanzania, and Kenya in East Africa.

There have been a few awards along the way…most recently first place in the Florence County Museum Miniature Competition a few years ago. I have been fortunate also to have judged a few exhibitions such as the Kingston Wildlife Exposition in Conway and the Kalmia show in Hartsville.

I have searched all my painting life to find a way to express my deep reverence for the beauty and complexity of the natural world. During the last five years, I think I have found my mature style which allows me to do that. I have moved more to the realistic expression through several new techniques that are evident my recent paintings. Much of this maturation, I believe, can be attributed to my intense study of those techniques and my continued fascination and study of my subjects.

This exhibit is FREE, and the public is encouraged to attend.

This exhibit will be on display until February 20, 2026.