James "Jim" Patrick Wise

Jim Wise passed away peacefully on April 9, 2025 at the age of 73, only two weeks after receiving a stage four metastatic lung cancer diagnosis. He was surrounded by the love of his family.

Jim was born on May 31, 1951 in Raleigh, North Carolina to parents Dr. George Herman Wise of Saluda, South Carolina and Marie Larson Wise of Franklin, Minnesota. With his parents and three older siblings–Mellie, Nancy and Mike–Jim grew up in a house on Woodburn Road, walking distance to North Carolina State University where Dr. Wise taught in the Department of Animal Science. His youth was filled with hiking and camping trips (often in the rain, or so he claimed), football and baseball games with his neighborhood friends (Jimmy couldn’t be tackled), and exploring Cameron Village (where he worked at the movie theater) and the NC State campus on skateboard. Jim remained close with his childhood friends throughout his life, and treasured the memories they shared.

Those who knew Jim know he was an incredibly talented artist, even from a young age. In high school, he was accepted to the North Carolina Governor’s School for Art. He went on to graduate from the Design College at NC State with a degree in visual design, where he formed yet another group of lifelong friends. After his graduation, Jim moved from Raleigh to Morehead City for a stint at the NC Aquarium then to Atlanta, Georgia to pursue a career in design. He landed his first Atlanta job with John H. Harland, the check maker, mostly designing bank logos, and quickly moved up in the local advertising community. Jim worked in various graphic design positions over the years before he opened his own studio, Wise Design.

In 1985, Jim met Hollis Morrison on a party bus headed to an Atlanta Falcons game. After several subsequent run-ins on the elevator in Colony Square, he finally asked her out on a date. They were married the following October at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, where they remain active members. In 1991, Jim and Hollis welcomed their daughter, Sidney, and in 1994, their son, Patrick. That same year, Jim and Hollis moved their family of four to a house on Homestead Avenue in Morningside where they stayed for the next 20 years, celebrating milestone after milestone as their children grew up. During this time, Jim was heavily involved in the community that formed around their kids–he served as president of the church preschool board, designed logos, booklets, and classroom art projects for the elementary school auctions, organized games for the annual Halloween carnivals, led Boy Scout camping trips, dressed up for Father/Daughter dances, and more. Hollis soon left her advertising job to join Jim full time at Wise Design. They made an exceptional team. With Hollis managing the business side of things and Jim leading the creative side, they were well-respected and successful in their work. Over the course of his long career, Jim produced award-winning design work for major corporations and institutions throughout the country. Throughout it all, he was painting on the side. In 2018, Jim finally –and happily– retired to focus on painting full time.

Jim put a great deal of time and effort into developing his art over the years. He studied various painting techniques and styles under painters in Atlanta and also in Philadelphia, where he attended multiple intensive art programs at the Studio Incamminati School for Contemporary Realist Art. Through an Atlanta-based art nonprofit, he took a seminar that inspired him to build out a business plan that would help him find gallery representation. That dream became reality in 2020 when Jim met Spalding Nix, owner of Spalding Nix Fine Art Gallery, who agreed to represent him upon seeing his work. With the support of Spalding and his team, Jim was proud to feature in two gallery shows and sell his work to buyers across the country.

Jim will be remembered for many things, but perhaps for his artistic eye most of all. Jim’s lifelong practice as a graphic designer led him to create unique paintings that presented images in unexpected and striking ways. He focused on themes of beauty, impermanence, and the relentless passage of time, aiming to spark an experience in the observer that is at once familiar and mysterious. He was particularly fascinated with painting roses, which he viewed as sublime objects of contemplation through their unfolding, becoming, decline, and death.

Outside of his painting, Jim was most excited by traveling in his retirement. With Hollis, Jim traveled extensively in the last several years, always planning their itineraries around stops at art museums to directly experience original work. They spent countless days wandering around in various cities they visited, hunting down specific paintings Jim wanted to see. They especially loved traveling to Italy and Spain, and last May made it to Ghent to see the Altarpiece by Jan van Eych. Just in January of this year, they spent two weeks in Mexico City exploring Frida’s Casa Azul and Diego’s mural Man, Controller of the Universe.

Jim loved being a dad to Sidney and Patrick, and being a bonus dad to their partners, Luke and Karissa, when they joined the family. For his kids, he was an exceptionally good listener and gave the best advice. He was generous with his love and made sure they knew he was proud of them every day. Jim was an ardent supporter of Hollis’s endeavors in the community, especially in their newer neighborhood, Old Fourth Ward, where he was active in the neighborhood association and community garden. He was a founder of the original FPC Men’s Group, which is still going strong to this day. The friendships he found there were incredibly important to him, and kept his mental and spiritual cup full. Jim was passionate about his position as a docent at Atlanta’s High Museum, where he led guided tours, engaging museum visitors in thoughtful discussions about the art they were experiencing, and where he made many friends. Jim had a wry, sarcastic sense of humor that his family usually appreciated. He was an animal lover and especially adored his two poodle girls, Tina and Frannie. His camera roll was overflowing with pictures of roses and perfect cloud formations.

Jim leaves behind a tremendous community of friends and a loving family that he was extraordinarily proud of. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Hollis, and his two children and their partners, Sidney (Luke Maschinot) and Patrick (Karissa Barrera), all of Atlanta, GA; his siblings, Mellie Friend (Charlie) of Charlotte, NC, Nancy Cameron of Greensboro, NC, and Mike Wise (Mary Dean) of Boone, NC; his in-laws, and 11 nieces and nephews and extended family.

A memorial service celebrating Jim’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on April 27, 2025 at First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, 1328 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30309. In lieu of flowers, Jim’s family requests that gifts may be made in his memory to the Old Fourth Ward Neighborhood Association’s Alaska Ave Community Garden, the High Museum of Art, or First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.