By Mark Mussari

Jim Carson has a confession to make: His art career began with a theft. Born in Little Rock, AR, and raised in Memphis, TN, Carson grew up in a strict religious family that offered little support for his creative side. “I had a passion for painting,” explains Carson, “but I had an older brother who was always drawing.” Although the family had determined that his brother was destined for an art career, young Jim—at the age of 6—stole more than his brother’s thunder.