Jim Shaw

t the bottom of some early paintings by retired Professor James R. Shaw is a Japanese character signifying Jim and dream. “It’s calling me the dreamer,” Shaw says. Since then, he has painted over 180 works (like Sawmill above), participated in several shows and won awards.

Most artists might only dream of such a successful career, but Shaw’s success as a painter began after retirement. “I can’t say I never painted before, but I had done very little,” he says. “When I retired I said I wanted to paint—that’s what I’m doing.”

Shaw, who retired in 1993, was a member of the music department faculty for 30 years. His instrument of choice is voice, but he taught just about every music course. “I was the utility man for the music department,” Shaw says.

Although Shaw has taken a few courses in painting, he credits hard work for his success. He begins his day at 6 a.m. with a mile walk to the Broadway Cafe in Pitman for coffee and then walks the mile home. “I start to paint from then until 12 or 12:30,” he says. “Sometimes I paint five to seven hours a day, everyday.” Shaw finds inspiration for his paintings from his surroundings, books he’s read or vacations he has taken with his wife Joanne.

Still exploring, Shaw plans to step into yet another medium, a boundary he’s crossed before. He is contemplating a second book of poetry. His first was Salt and Pepper Earth, published in 1975. The first poem in that book reads, “might i write poems/lovely as the sound of rain/falling on night trees.” Indeed he has—with words, music and now, brush and paint.

Editor’s Note
James Shaw passed away in August 2001. This article first appeared in Summer 1999. In addition to the artistic legacy Jim left in music education and painting, shortly before his death he combined the two loves in painting a tribute to his colleague, W. Clarke Pfleeger. The portrait hangs in Wilson Hall, just outside W. Clarke Pfleeger Concert Hall.

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