Born in Chicago, award-winning artist Jim Gross attended classes at the Art Institute as a teen before receiving his BFA in Industrial Design from the Univeristy of Illinois in Urbana. His instructors included Carolee Schneeman (life drawing) and Richard Hunt (sculpture).
Jim then had a long and successful career in new product development, working with Abbott Labs, Kendall Healthcare, Uroquest Medical, Cardinal Health, Allegiance and Teleflex. He obtained thirty-five US patents for medical product designs, all while continuing to pursue painting and photography on the side. He learned encaustics from Laurel Delanry and studied watercolor under Catherine Wilson Smith and Iain Stewart.
Jim has worked in oil, colored pencil, colored marker, encaustic and pastel, but he paints primarily in watercolor. He says that “no medium is more vibrant or versatile than watercolor. It offers a sensuality that other mediums don’t exhibit.” He also enjoys the challenge of watercolor and its immediate sense of success or failure. Although a “tough taskmaster,” the rewards are unbeatable!
Jim now resides in Richmond, Illinois with his wife and daughter. He exhibits at numerous local venues and is a valued member of the Antioch Fine Arts Foundation and the Lakes Region Watercolor Guild.