Robert Jessup

"Little Me as a Dog", 2012

Oil on Canvas, 20"x20"

I received my copy of New American Paintings the other day and have not been able to get my eyes away from the pages with Robert Jessup's work.  From what I can see, he has been working in representation to show the viewer a story for the majority of his career.  The past two years of paintings however, have drastically changed in style. Jessup says of his process, "A painting is done when the last punch lands," and that his work is made with "...equal parts deliberation and desperation."

"Head Woman 12-26", 2012

Oil, 18"x18"

There is an aggression and immediacy from the swooping strokes of Jessup's brush that channel a sense of honesty and memory.

Here, look at some of his older work to see the stylistic switch I'm talking about:

Nighscene, 1999

Oil on canvas, 70"x80"

Sister, 2001

Oil on Canvas, 60"x60"

Half Head, Ice Cream, 2004

Oil on board, 11"x14"

Cloud Series, #11, 2006

Oil on canvas, 30"x30"

Couple, Bedroom, 2007

Oil on canvas, 44"x42"

from the couples in love series

Although there has been a huge shift in the way Jessup is using his paint, I would argue that the narrative remains present in his work.  The two portraits at the top from this year are equally as capable of relating a narrative as "Half Head, Ice Cream" from 2004, with an additional kick from the raw application of paint.  In the newer work I spend time looking at the piece trying to find landmarks such as a nose or an ear and in the older work I am spending that same time trying to figure things out, like "Where did that lady get that amazing purple wig?" or, "What's up with that angry cat?"  There is an equal balance of detective work the viewer must put to in both bodies of work, which is what stimulates me as a viewer and challenges me as a painter.

Here are a few more of Jessup's work from this year with the new style and a huge punch of narrative.

"Cloud and Meteor" 2012

Oil, 42"x48"

"Dr. Jung with his Mistress in the Mountains" 2012

Oil, 64"96"

"A Family Climbs the Mountain" 2012

Oil, 64"x84"

"Portrait of a Woman (Robert's Thumb)" 2012

Oil, 48"x42"

I had such a hard time picking work to show here, do yourself a favor and go to Robert Jessup's website and have a look at more of his paintings.

Favorite Things I've Made

This post is based off a fun idea Erika over at Foxtrot Press has put together.  So be sure to click on that link there and check out what else is going on over there!

Here are the six things I've settled on:

A group of drawings 

Painting of my brother Kevin from this Summer

An old vase, I probably made this somewhere around 2008? 

Some of the signs I'be been making at work.

My new tattoo that I collaborated on with my tattoo artist Dennis, from Providence Tattoo

A couple of simple and colorful dishes I've made this week... healthy and otherwise.

Go ahead and linkup if you like!

Oil on Paper

Well, 2011
Oil on Paper
10.5x12"

Here are a few of the images that I am currently working with in preparation to go up onto my website.  I've begun the color correction process to get the images identical to the paintings.  They are all just about perfect.  From there I will crop and square them to have a clean looking image.  

Earth Hole in Red, 2011
Oil on Paper
10.5x12"

Landscape with Grayscale, 2011
Oil on Paper
10.5x12"

Markers, 2011
Oil on Paper
10.5x12"

Primary and Gray, 2011
Oil on Paper
10.5x12"

I always have to keep an eye on the clock while working in Photoshop because I could very easily get sucked in for the entire day and miss everything else I am supposed to do.

What I've been up to in the studio

Visual Update

Images 1-6 are on 10x12" canvas painted with oil

Image 7 is on approx 40x26" stretched canvas painted with oil

Image 8 is on 16x20" canvas board painted with oil

(Don't know why this guy is washed out, probably because I need to work on my photography skills.) 

(In progress)

I've got some more things going in the studio but you'll have to check back later for those!

Forward Moving

Forward Progress!

Here is a fresh sketch for a new piece I'm about to start. I can't wait to get into the studio to try it out with some oils. I'm thinking I'll throw it out on a 16"x20" panel. More on this later.

My landscape series is continuing on, I have 10.5 out of 14 of them completed. As I work on finishing those up over the next week I'll be stretching a big guy (4'x5') to paint a large version of one of them. Can't wait to post the pieces I've completed recently. I'm proud of this series and have to give a shout out to my girl Arlee who's paintings are a great inspiration for me. I just checked around for pics of her work online but couldn't find anything, I've put a request in so hopefully we can see some soon up in hur.