About Jeff
I've been creating art as long as I can remember. Okay, maybe my works from four years old weren't really art, but you get the point. I got my first watercolor set at around 5 or 6, started in photography at around 10, pen and ink around 13, acrylics around 16. Although I went through a very long period of watercolor painting, I am now focused almost entirely on acrylic on panel. See my blog page for why I use acrylics as well as why I paint on panel.
If I were to try and describe my style, it is near photo-realistic with a touch of impressionism. I love bright colors, I loved shooting 35mm slides with Kodachrome. The colors and metals looked more than lifelike.
Trompe L'oeil is a challenge in that it requires precision painting as well as a highly polished composition to pull off the effect. I throw in various tongue and cheek elements to mock myself and the more serious art critic.
My work can regularly be seen at:
Del Ray Artisans, 2704 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301
The Art League Gallery: 05 North Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 (Studio 21)
Artist's Statement
Jeff is not a fan of verbose, self-centered artist's statements. He is not out to change the world or make a political or social statement. He doesn’t paint to change people’s votes or their view on religion. It’s not his job and he feels there is enough partisanship and bickering in the world. He doesn’t paint as a therapy to deal with his inner demons as he think his inner demons are pretty much under control.
Simply put, Jeff paints images from the world that grab his attention through the colors, textures and composition they contain. He paints images that he sees as comfortable and relaxing which he would hang on his own walls. He feels the world is too tense and stressful to come home to anxious or angry art. Jeff strives to make a home that is inviting for himself, his wife and the many guests they host, and these paintings are a key component in achieving that goal. Home is a place to unwind and enjoy the simple things in life, good company, good food and great conversation and laughter.
The dynamic compositions and colors created by nature fascinate him. The ebb and flow of plant growth through the seasons, the art of natural erosion over the centuries, the beautiful chaotic placement of rocks by water and glaciers, the thousands of greens in trees and plants all offer vistas man has yet to create in any design studio.
Jeff has a simple motto in painting – “Paint what you truly see, not what you expect to see.” When he finds himself in a difficult situation while painting, it almost always comes down to a conflict of trying to paint something that really isn’t visible but instead is an ill convinced “vision” of what one would stereotypically think is visible. When he focuses on what is really visible, the problem is always solved. Jeff’s paintings are “honest” in that very little is changed from the original photo in the final painting. He edits some items if they detract from the composition; some colors might be changed or enhanced, or some man-made “pollution” like a brick or tire in a stream may be removed. In most cases, the images are from his own photographs. Occasionally he will ask to use a fellow photographer’s work as a subject or refer to a historic image that is beyond his years.
Jeff works in his studio from printed or computer screen images from his own photographs as his paintings are too detailed to attempt in a plein air or still life setting. The lighting and the physical condition of the subject change too rapidly over time even in still life subject.
Jeff’s education is from a vast array of liberal arts, technological and managerial from many institutions including six colleges and universities. He holds a summa cum laude Bachelor’s degree in General Studies and Masters in IT Management. He hones his skills with other skilled artists when he can during Patrick Kirwin’s Monday night Trompe L’oeil and Photorealism Art League class as time permits.
My studio in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria, Virginia, USA.