Jim Ausfeld - Artist Bio

            Jim Ausfeld says he is an oil painter by nature. Jim’s art has evolved through various stages of subjects over the years.  Ausfeld’s early works were mainly landscapes of mountains, woods and lakes.  These scenes evoked, for Jim, a sense of peacefulness and connection to unspoiled nature.

            After spending many vacations around the eastern U.S. Coast, Ausfeld’s focus shifted to shoreline scenes of rocky crags and lighthouses, using the condition of the sky to set the mood, such as the purplish, gray of an impending storm, to the bright blue of a perfect sailing day. 

            Jim’s artistic direction the last few years has also included urban scenes, which contrasts his earlier outdoor landscape period.  This new direction was manifest in 1996 after his son, Jeffrey, (then 18 years old) returned from a summer tour of Europe.  While there, Jeffrey took many photographs of points of interest, which also included shots of typical street scenes.  Ausfeld was particularly intrigued by a photo of a peaceful narrow, treeless street in Dinkelsbühl, Germany. The picture included two youths walking down the street.  As Jim wondered where the street was leading these boys to, he decided to capture the scene in a painting, but with just one boy on the street, to signify his son moving away from his childhood, and turning the corner of life into the future which is yet to be discovered.

            In summer of 1998, Jim visited the British Isles with his daughter Erin.  Ausfeld was struck by the quaint charm and beauty of little towns and villages in England.  One such view was a delightful street scene of the Great North Road through Grantham, England, the home of Margaret Thatcher, (formerly Prime Minister of Britain).  Jim painted this street scene as well as several other English scenes.

            Jim received third place for the “People’s Choice” award for the Art on Lark art show. The chosen piece was exhibited at LuLu’s Art Gallery in Albany, New York. Ausfeld has also been exhibited in several art shows and at the Chrysalis Gallery in Southampton, Long Island. A selection of Jim’s paintings are being exhibited in the office of Beacon Resources and can be seen on his web site www.ausfeldoilpaintings.com