Jim Elias

"Paint him a picture," she said. "I haven't painted in 30 years," I said. She said, "so what, paint him a picture!" So, I did. My oldest son was getting married and instead of cash or a gift off their wedding registry, I painted again after thirty years. So much life had happened before I became a professional painter – life’s experience has given me a rich foundation on which to create. I studied fine art photography and graphic design at the University of South Dakota. I began painting professionally in 2016. I founded Sunrise Galleries; curated over 300 pieces of art for the brand-new Merrill Hotel; opened a second retail gallery location; launched our online gallery, sunrisegalleries.com; then tribulations brought on by COVID 19, both brick & mortar galleries have now been shuttered. As a painter, I have completed dozens of commissions and have produced hundreds of paintings. I have developed various styles painting representational, nature, and abstract art.

Jim is based out of Muscatine County.