Jim Visser was born in Holland. He with his family, with post second war immigration to Canada, settled into farming near Edmonton. In 1999 Jim retired from operating a seed potato farm and became a full time painter. From 1975 through the early 1990s, he studied drawing, printmaking and both watercolour and oil painting at The University of Alberta, Fine Arts, Extension. He attended an artist residency at Emma Lake in 2002. He is a member of The Alberta Society of Artists, Visual Arts Alberta – CARFAC, as well as The Canadian Artists Representation Of Canada. He has been featured in solo shows in Edmonton, Red Deer, St. Albert and Stony Plain.