Jim Grabowski, a native of New Britain, Connecticut, received his bachelor's degree from Central Connecticut State University in 1966 and, after serving as the University Art Department's first graduate assistant, he earned his MFA there in 1968. After leaving central, he taught art for several years, but soon found himself being commissioned for his paintings and collages. In each of his large and dynamic paintings, Mr. Grabowski seeks to reflect the values of his clients, to interpret their aspirations, and to enhance their working environments.

Although known primarily as a painter of expansive abstract canvases filled with bold color and motion, Mr. Grabowski's recent work also includes impressionistic landscape paintings that are quieter, often inspired by the Connecticut countryside around his home.

For the last 20 years, he had devoted himself exclusively to his art, which he creates in his studio in Marlborough, Connecticut, where he lives with his wife and daughter.