Jim Draper grew up in Kosciusko, Mississippi, the geographical center of the state. He attended the University of Mississippi where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1974 and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Georgia at Athens in 1978. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Draper has taught drawing and painting at Florida State College at Jacksonville, Flagler College in St. Augustine, and as a faculty member and Galleries Coordinator for the University of North Florida.  He is currently retired from teaching and works full-time in the studio.
His work, which includes drawing, painting, photography, video and writing, is informed by journeys into the wilds of Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. Drawing primarily from the philosophy of radical naturalism, Draper gets inspiration from myriad sources beyond nature in the form of conservationists, naturalists, and other artists who are known as experts at observation of the natural world. 
Draper’s works include: 
Shantyboat Stories,  Broadbrush Press, 2024. This hard-bound book contains 23 short stories. The work is both fiction and creative non-fiction. 
FERRAL, investigates the relationship between our species (Homo sapiens) and the balance of the natural world. FERAL, as a body of work depicts various plant and animal species that have either been relocated by our species in order to provide food or at risk due to actions by humans. Exhibited at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
during fall of 2023.
Radical Naturalism, series of various images exhibited at University of North Florida, Spring 2023. This body of work documents a creative exploration of the natural world. 
Vacas Españolas de Florida (Spanish Cows of Florida), depicting the Florida cracker cows descended from the Andalusian cows of southern Spain.
  • Centro de Arte Contempráneo de Mijas, 2018
  • Museo de los Gálvez, Macharaviaya, 2019
  • Museo de Arte de La Excelentísima Diputación Provincial de Málaga, 2019
Healing Palms, series of hundreds of paintings and prints, designed as not only the icon of Florida, but a symbol of resilience and the ability to persevere.
  • Various public and private collections
The Ribbon of Life, series of twenty-two paintings taking the view from the ocean to the river and on to the springs and creeks beyond.
  • Baptist Medical Center, Jacksonville, FL, Permanent Display
Feast of Flowers, Draper’s seminal work, is a multi-disciplinary project that critically investigates new ways of understanding Florida’s history, environmental aesthetics and the human place within the natural order.  
  • Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens (Jacksonville, FL). December 2013-April 2014
Produce, featured artist in “We Are What We Eat” exhibition 2016
  • United Nations Headquarters, Visitors’ Lobby in New York City, NY
Beach Finds, series of original paintings cleanly depicting images found on southeast beaches, primarily shark teeth, shells, and feathers
  • Various public and private collections
Liquid Peace, ten depictions of the waterways of the southeast, primarily northeast Florida promoting clean, available water as a pathway to peace
  • Lufrano Gallery, University of North Florida
 
Draper’s work can be seen in hundreds of corporate and private collections, including the Jacksonville International Airport, Baptist Medical Center, and Cowford Chophouse.
In 2016 Draper was bestowed the title of Icon of Jacksonville by the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville at their 40th Annual Arts Awards Gala. In 2018, Draper was the recipient of the Ann McDonald Baker Art Ventures Award & $10,000 Unrestricted Grant from The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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