Known for his romantic depictions of the West, Jim Carson thoroughly researches his subject matter, which combines romantic idealism and chronicled historical events. He is dedicated to keeping alive visions of the Old west.
A New Yorker, he attended the Art Students League and illustrated western novels. He had become enamored of the West when he, at age thirteen, spent several weeks at the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch in New Mexico.
He earned a PhD in chemistry, but his first love was art.