7. Looking at Dali's paintings in Life, Jim realized his own art could be anything he wanted it to be, and, while influenced by Dali, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, Rembrandt, Magritte, Monet, Peter Max and others, he set out to further develop his own unique style of painting. In 1986, Jim was commissioned to create a painting for another gifted individual, world-renowned recording artist, Prince. Jim was given very limited information on which to base the painting other than a one-page sheet containing 13 instructions such as, "a fat man hugging a tiger," "two men with hair shorter on one side, playing the tambourine." Jim was instructed, "use your imagination," which, of course, he did. Upon completion of the painting he was told that Prince loved it. Currently, Jim focuses primarily on his fine art paintings. Yet in spite of the strong, ongoing demand for these works, he has managed to find time to create two books: "The Art of Jim Warren," and "Jim Warren, Painted Worlds." Both contain clear and colorful representations of his works, many of which combine, as Jim has stated, "the effect of the real mixed with a touch of the unreal, to make you feel as though you're actually seeing something that in reality couldn't possibly be. Although Mother Nature is my favorite art director, I do take artistic license to create environments of my own." When questioned by an acquaintance recently concerning what aspect of his work gave him the most pleasure, Jim replied, "the letters and emails I get from people around the world who say they have been touched in some way by my paintings. The fact that my art can create an effect like that for some people, and act as a positive influence in their lives, means a great deal to me." Such is the Art of Jim Warren. Source: jimwarren.com

8. Making Friends One of my trademarks is people ripping through the back of the canvas, symbolizing the breaking into another world, or out of some place that they are. Here we have the little girl entering the land of Tinkerbell and making friends with the little star herself.

9. Awkward Age Anyone who has children knows exactly what I mean by this painting. They can be so cute and funny at times but man, can they do the darnedest things.

10. Dolphin Encounters Someone once wrote a song with lyrics that said "It's like living in a Jim Warren painting!..." I thought how fun that would be to actually be able to enter and interrelate with a painting. Children with their vivid and free imaginations seem to have that ability!

11. Welcome to Hawaii Going to Hawaii is like entering a dream. A very vivid and beautiful dream.

12. Waiting for the Rain The idea for this painting came to me during a drought in California in the late 80s. We were all waiting for Mother Nature to do her job.

13. Add a Little Color Although this painting is painted for the cover of the Jan/Feb 2003 issue of Tampa Bay Magazine, it is actually a portrait of Margaret Burnside who is the co-editor of that magazine. The idea here is that sometimes we must take things into our own hands and make life a little better and brighter.

14. Fearless Faeries Many of my paintings include two subjects together. Often these subjects are in big contrast to each other such as with this painting; the big and ferocious next to the very soft & dainty. Notice in this painting these opposites are in a peaceful co-existence with each other ...unlike some of the opposites we find in the real world with religions, races and sexes.

15. If Only You Believe I couldn't imagine any bigger childhood fantasy than to have Peter Pan, Snow White and Tinkerbell come into our world and show us a little magic.

16. Snow White's Romance Snow White is the one Disney cartoon that I felt could really work as an adult theme. Here I have the Romantic Day theme, which I have used in many of my paintings, for Snow White and her Prince, and of course her little friends to take a romantic stroll through...

17. Circle of Friends Although I'm not a little girl, or even a big girl for that matter, as an artist I feel it is important to try to see things as others would see them. I would imagine any little girl's fantasies would include being a mermaid and swimming with the sea's best friends, the Dolphins! ...Actually, I could imagine doing that myself.all of which to be honest, mean nothing particularly.

18. The Discovery People have often asked me if the ideas for my paintings come to me in my dreams, which I let them know that no they never have, until now that is. This is the very first painting that I ever did that I dreamt, woke up with it fresh on my mind, thought it over for a moment and said "Hey, That's actually an interesting idea. I am going to paint that" And per my dream, I actually ripped a hole into the canvas. (Limited editions of this painting will also have an actual rip)

19. What a Wonderful World I have been through many artistic fazes during my career, from horror/sci-fi book covers, fantasy, surrealism, paintings with environmental messages etc. For this painting I simply wanted to paint what I felt would be a wonderful world; inspired by a favorite old song of mine by Louis Armstrong. Some might look at this and say I'm getting old & soft... I like to think it's more proof of my versatility. Just wait and see what's next!

20. Seven Horses As a kid, I always enjoyed those drawings in activity books with the faces and animals hidden in it. But they were often too easy, even for your average half-witted 10 year old such as myself. So I painted "Seven Horses", where each horse is a little harder than the next to find, until the seventh, which is almost impossible unless you're Einstein, who is not alive. So if you find six, here is a hint for the seventh: "Even if you can't find him, there is proof that he exists". Mouse over the picture to find the horses.

21. Seven Dolphins This is the second in my series of hidden animals and marine life. Like life itself, some of it is easy, and some is a little more challenging.Good luck and stay tuned for the next ones. Mouse over the image to find the dolphins.

22. Seven Hearts This is the third in my series of hidden objects, animals and marine life. Like LOVE itself, it is elusive and hard to locate in the real world. Mouse over the image to find the hearts .

23. Seven Eagles

24. Romantic Day The ideas for my paintings often start with a simple subject. In this case, romance. From there the imagery falls right into place, first in my mind, then on paper, and last on canvas as a completed painting.

25. Heaven on Earth (Love in Paradise) Romance is a popular theme in my paintings and has been for many years. Stress free environments such as those on tropical islands have also been a favorite subject matter for me and when the two are combined, I feel it is the closest thing there is to Heaven on Earth.

26. Tropical romance Romance is just a state of mind, I feel, but it is so much easier to get in that state when relaxing and playing in a tropical environment( In this painting I have two sets of feet prints coming from different directions and meeting, drawing a heart in the sand with the stick, and walking off together down the beach. It was just a coincidence that I painted this two days before Valentine's Day 2008)

27. Love hawaiian stile Life takes on a whole new meaning while in a tropical environment during a volcanic eruption. I was lucky enough to be in Hawaii during one and with my camera as usual.

28. Love When I try to sum up the best of what this world has to offer, in only one simple word, LOVE is what comes to mind.One of my favorite bands from the 60s was named LOVE, and I was intrigued recently by the simple title LOVE for the new Las Vegas Cirque Du Soleil based on the Beatles music.

29. The Waiting Sometimes people spend their whole life waiting for their ship to come in, waiting so much that they miss the boat.

30. Romantic reflexion The idea for this painting was conceived while driving around in my car (Yes I think and drive)If you notice, the reflections of the hearts make up the whole shape of the heart, representing the fact that it takes two people in love to reflect off each other before there can be true romance.

31. Forever love This is one of my first paintings that I did after moving to Florida from California in 1994. The Spoonbill birds are actually one bird that I shot three times as it was flying away from me trying to take a picture. He probably thought I was some dumb Californian tourist who never saw a pink bird with big wings before, which is pretty much true. The hidden lovers embracing in the rocks is why it is titled "Forever Love"

32. Romantic Seas What I feel about my paintings are that they are like movies, except that I capture the whole story in one still scene. The good thing about that is that the viewer is free to interpret the story as they like, and as it relates to them personally. That is what art is all about.

33. Ship of romance What I feel about my paintings are that they are like movies, except that I capture the whole story in one still scene. The good thing about that is that the viewer is free to interpret the story as they like, and as it relates to them personally. That is what art is all about.

34. Together Again Since the beginning I have used romance as a common theme in my paintings. I feel romance is mysterious and spiritual. I strive to give life to those beliefs in my artwork.

35. Nature's Embrace Here we have the woman, symbolized by the soft and flowing ocean waves, and the man, symbolized by the strong and unshaken rock. Love is as natural as nature itself.

36. The Last Embrace Like the rough seas, romance is sometimes hard to hold on to, but I didn't intend for this to be a tragic love story in the tradition of Shakespeare. I feel that the challenges involved in romance are what makes true love so special when found.

37. Splash of Life Some believe that God created life and others believe it simply evolved. I think arguing over it is a waste of time. It seems to me that both theories could possibly be true. If God created life, then what did he create it from? Well, that is actually deeper then I intended this painting to be. I just took two simple images; seagulls, and ocean spray, and combined them together, which is my trademark style.

38. Romantic Sunset I was driving down by the beach one day in Florida when I spotted a beautiful sunset, and two lovers gazing up at it. The scene was so perfect that I took out my camera, shot it and painted it pretty much as it was, except for the ocean wave that I felt would be the topping on the cake.