Jim Bryant is a lifelong Texan. He has been creating art since he was old enough to hold a crayon and began sculpting in his mom’s kitchen in Higgins, TX with homemade clay made of flour, salt and water. One of the first sculptures he ever created was a bust of his High School girlfriend, who became his bride of 43 years.
He was inspired by and learned about sculpting in clay for bronze casting, from the well-known Christian, cowboy artist Kenneth Wyatt of Tulia, TX, as well as many other contemporary artists in and around the panhandle and South Plains of Texas. He became a full-time artist after retirement from a 39 year long career in law enforcement.
His sculptures are usually Southwest themed, Biblical, and historical figures, and an occasional portrait. He works in clay, usually later cast in bronze. He has experimented with other casting materials but fall back to bronze as often as possible.
The best and most honest critics of his work were and still are his two sons who always told him what they thought of my work. More specifically, when he does portraits, by asking the hard-biting question, “Who’s that?” until it gets fixed.
In 2004, President of the Rockwall Art League, Doris Yanger, told him about a contest for a memorial statue of the three founders of the actual “rock wall” for which Rockwall County was named. Later that year, his design was chosen and after a 17-year effort of some dedicated volunteers and citizen donations, the City of Rockwall completed the funding for the project to create a larger than life-size bronze memorial of his original maquette scheduled for placement in May of 2022. He posts progress on the project at www.jmbrant.com.
He states "I have been honored to be friends with many exceptional artists, in and because of the Rockwall Art League. The support and encouragement of other artists has made me so appreciative of the talent God blessed me with, to bring joy to others"
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