IT IS difficult to imagine anything good coming out of a near-fatal car crash, but for one former accountant and management consultant, it led to a new career as a painter - and with a little help from the Internet, a flourishing new business.
''In 1992 I was driving home one evening when a car ran into me,'' explained Jim Wood of Kilmacolm. ''The crash damaged my neck, back and legs, but eventually I recovered physically. It was the psychological impact that was much harder to handle.
''I tried to go back to work, but found I couldn't concentrate. Worst of all,
I had lost my self-confidence, and you can't be a successful business consultant without it.''
At the time of the crash Wood ran his own company, Corporate Checkpoints, which specialised in corporate recovery work. Set up in 1987, it had built up a small team of advisors by the time of the crash.
''I simply had no option but to shut down the firm and retire early,'' Wood said. The psychological scars were slow to heal, and as he looks back, he admits to allowing himself to become depressed.
The turning point came when he received a visit from the local minister. ''He told me in no uncertain terms to get out of my chair and start taking an interest in life again - perhaps take up a hobby.''
So Wood decided to try painting, even though he hadn't lifted a brush since leaving school. He said he enjoyed the dabbling, and friends were soon telling him he had a talent for it.
Wood enrolled in a year's course at the Glasgow College of Art. As his work began to be seen by a wider audience, his paintings began to sell for up to #1000.
His work draws upon themes from the business world and he has turned to the Internet to make his work available to a wider audience.
''I had used information technology extensively in my consultancy work, and soon realised what a great communications medium the Internet is,'' he said. ''I commissioned a local Kilmacolm company, 2 Visualize, to develop a website for me, and they have done a terrific job.
''If anyone logs on to www.jamesawood.com, they can see the full range of my work.''
He has had enquiries from the US and all over Europe, and his paintings are in collections from Sydney to Salt Lake City. ''I initially saw the Internet primarily as a way of displaying my wares, but it has also turned out to be a great way for people to contact me.''
The Internet focus will be evident this weekend, when Wood hosts his fifth annual exhibition on Friday and Saturday at the Kilmacolm Community Centre. Visitors will be able to view his paintings both in person and over the Internet.
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