Artist Jim Biggers looks to the world for inspiration

By Kenneth Jessen
Correspondent

For Estes Park and Bellvue artist Jim Biggers, inspiration comes from his world travels including Africa, Europe and Central America.

After returning home, he uses his many photographs as a guide for his paintings. These images are much like research material, and there can be no literal translation from a photograph to a painting. Biggers points out that photographs taken by others are of no value and that a given scene must be experienced firsthand. It could be the heat of the sun, an ocean breeze or the chill of a winter day. His travels become the background tapestry for his paintings and why he can breathe life into a two dimensional scene.

Ideas come spontaneously, and Biggers does not anticipate or plan ahead to find something worthy of his attention. When he sees it, he knows the subject is just right for a great painting. It could be the colorful outfits worn by Africa's Maasi people or a row of blue rental boats on Lake Titsee. It is at this moment that Biggers visualizes the entire finished work.

He advises his students that in order for an artist to know where to go with a subject, the end point must be kept clearly in mind. Biggers said that this is his process, one he uses over and over to produce an extraordinary range of work.

Biggers also advises his students to concentrate only on one aspect of a given scene --that which will have the most meaning for the viewer. In the case of "Colorado Mine," it is an old rusting mill with details in its architectural features. In the case of a village along Lake Como, Italy, it is the subtle color of its buildings reflected in the water. Other elements of Biggers' paintings are intentionally made more subdued. Staying focused on a single aspect of a given scene gives his work its high visual impact.

Biggers teaches only a few workshops a year, and his lucky students learn how to view a scene and extract what is important. Beginners tend to start with a specific subject, then wander to some other aspect. This dilutes the impact of a painting. If the subject happens to be the texture of an old barn, then the sky, trees and meadow can simply be suggested and their details simplified.

All artists owe their success to someone who taught them the techniques they know and use. Biggers credits internationally known Richard Schmid. Luck played a role when Biggers lived in Poudre Canyon, a place he enjoyed for some 30 years. When Schmid moved from the East Coast to Stove Prairie, Biggers studied under him.

Biggers received a fine arts degree from Central State University in Oklahoma--a school, Biggers said, that was focused on abstract art. When he studied to become a realist, it was under the tutorage of a Roman Catholic priest, Father Walsh, who trained at the Art Institute of Chicago. As time passed and Biggers became more experienced, he made many visits to art museums to view the works of the masters.

As for the future, Biggers said he will hang loose--his style of experiencing life as a series of moments. He will, however, finish paintings of Africa and its people. When he takes his next trip, he will probably rent a car, allowing him to linger in one place if he so chooses.

For those that wish to bid on a work by Jim Biggers, "Colorado Farmhouse" will be auctioned at the Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction held on Sept. 2 starting at 12:30 p.m. in Rist Canyon about halfway between Bellvue and Stove Prairie.