Meet Jim Hastings of Ranch House Art Studio in East Dallas, White Rock Lake

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim Hastings.

Jim, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have loved the process of making art since I was a little kid. I would sit on the floor in front of the TV and draw constantly. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s there weren’t many options for kids to study art. So, my mom enrolled me in art classes at Richland Collage. Being 10 years old in a class full of adults was an interesting experience, but it showed me early on what was possible if I pushed myself.

In high school, I had a great art teacher, Marsha Hogue, who encouraged me to sign up for as many art classes as I could. My senior year I had 5 art classes a day. Mrs. Hogue also introduced me to a whole world of artists and artwork I had never heard of or seen before. This was before Google. If you didn’t have a book with someone’s art in it, or the local galleries and museums didn’t have examples on display, it didn’t exist.

After high school, I lived in South Africa, for two years, as a missionary. My time in Africa changed me. I studied constantly as a missionary and found for the first time in my life that information and learning have the potential to change a persons life. I also discovered that I had a talent for teaching others, this came as huge surprise to me. I had always enjoyed telling stories to family and friends, but I found that relevant stories and sharing personal experiences, as I taught others, made the information I was presenting more meaningful and memorable.

Upon returning to the United States, I attended the Kansas City Art Institute and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting. I wanted to teach art but had trouble finding a teaching position right out of school. So my brother and I started a Stained Concrete business, which I worked at for almost 2 years. I knew, however, that if I didn’t cross over into teaching it would never happen. So, I took a leap of faith and a teaching position found me, through a friend. I went back to school after teaching for a few years and earned a Master of Arts in Art Education. At the same time, I was working on my masters and teaching in a public middle school I began teaching evening and weekend classes at a private art school.

I have now been a public school art teacher for the last 18 years. All but one of those years, I have also taught private art classes. The private art classes are really what kept me in education this long. I was able to teach smaller classes to kids who were really interested in art. I have come to love teaching in a public school setting as well, but it took a little more time. A good portion of my time, at the private art school, was spent teaching a portfolio class that mostly consisted of 13 and 14-year-old students. These students were looking to advance their artistic skills and develop a portfolio for auditions at Booker T Washington, the performing and visual arts high school located in downtown Dallas. I also developed and taught several other classes and camps that catered to students ranging in age from 5 to 80 years old.

Around the beginning of 2017, I decided to start offering private art instruction out of my own studio in East Dallas. As a result of this decision Ranch House Art Studio was founded.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In October of 2015, my oldest daughter, who had just graduated from Booker T Washington, was on her way to church when she was kidnapped and murdered. Her tragic death really threw me into a tailspin, and I found it difficult to teach teenagers for a time. This was really hard for me because I loved teaching kids that were just beginning to see what they were capable of doing. So, instead of fighting it, I decided to take some time off from teaching that group of students. I continued to teach art at the public school where I had been teaching, but instead of giving private instruction in the evenings and weekends, I poured myself into my own artistic endeavors.

The result has been over 860 new pieces of artwork in pen, ink, watercolor, acrylic paint, and collage. I’ve also done 3 large scale murals. Almost all of the artwork is centered on family and friends.

A year later, when I felt confident that I could throw myself back into teaching private students, my position at the private art school where I had been teaching was no longer available to me. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I talked to family and friends about some of the ideas I had about my own business. I received a lot of positive feedback and decided that combining my teaching skills with my artistic projects was the way for me to proceed.

Please tell us about Ranch House Art Studio.
I have always felt that kids with artistic talent need to see adult versions of themselves. I enjoy discussing paintings, murals, and other artistic endeavors that I am working on personally with my students. I am also constantly inspired by the artwork of my students. Their approaches to the artistic process are as varied as the individuals themselves. I had a Painting Professor in college that use to tell us her favorite thing about each new crop of students was seeing what color hair they would have. I too, like to see what “color of hair” each new group will have. It amazes me that year after year there is always new outlooks on life, new ways of approaching an assignment, and renewed excitement for the creative process.

Ranch House Art Studio gives students solid, classically based art instruction, that will advance their technical ability. I believe it was Picasso that said, “.Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” I have a love for art history and the variety of art that has come out of the 20th and 21st century. I am also an avid follower of contemporary trends in art and integrate as much as I can into new projects for students.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My parents had an antique couch that was made of this ornately carved wood with red velvet cushions. My mom would sit down with me on that couch and read Swiss Family Robinson, King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table, Robin Hood, all the classics. I can still remember the pictures they conjured in my head as a kid.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1239 N. Selva Dr. Dallas, TX 75218
• Phone: 469-766-1540
• Email: ranchhousestudio.dallas@gmail.com
• Facebook: @ranchhousestudio

Image Credit:
Jim Hastings

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