Meet Teressa Jackson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Teressa Jackson.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born in Enid, Oklahoma and grew up in the Louisville, Kentucky, suburb of New Albany, Indiana. I began studying art at an early age and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from Louisville’s Bellarmine University in 1994. Following graduation, I spent a summer studying Byzantine mosaics and frescoes in Rome, Ravenna, and Venice, Italy, with the State University of New York at New Paltz.

In the years following college graduation, my art took a back seat as I pursued a career in the Louisville-area not-for-profit sector. I continued to paint, make mosaics, and design hooked wool rugs on an intermittent basis, but most of my creative energy was directed toward the organizations for which I worked.

In fall 2016, I sold my home and most of my possessions and spent a year traveling, connecting with beautiful places and experiences and using those adventures to inform and re-launch my artistic pursuits. During this time, I produced over 100 paintings and sold nearly all of them. It was a pretty fantastic mid-life crisis!

My travels took me through most of the western United States, then to Belize, Mexico, and finally the Caribbean island of Saint-Martin. After missing Hurricane Irma’s destruction in Saint-Martin by just three days, my husband and I flew to Tucson, where we have happily made our new home. I continue to work full-time as a painter and as a marketing and fundraising consultant.

Please tell us about your art.
More and more, we find ourselves disconnected from what is real – whether it’s “reality” television, “fake news,” your friend’s social media profile or a digitally manipulated work of art. While I consider myself to be a technophile, I conversely also crave authenticity – both from the world around me and in artistic expression. We’ve become accustomed to the ability to copy, paste, and undo, and lost the humanity of unchangeable strokes, colors, and compositions. As a counterpoint, my 100% analog paintings convey my permanent, personal interpretation of and response to real moments I’ve spent in nature.

In many aspects of life, I feel driven to dare myself to do what feels uncomfortable, to reexamine what I dislike or avoid. In 2016 and 2017, I challenged myself to a whole new life, leaving everything I knew and traveling full-time across the United States and in the Caribbean. During this time, I also charged myself with exploring a different medium and subject matter. My previous work was based on portraiture of people and objects, gravitating toward a focus on an item and its details. Landscapes and their seemingly never-ending, complex components were overwhelming for me to process visually and conceptually. So, naturally, I became a landscape artist.

I have always loved to showcase personality, bright color, and pattern in my style. As a child, my imagination was captured by the concept of pointillism. As an adult, I became a collector of folk and outsider art, drawn to its pure expression, bright colors, and bold patterns and colors. Both of these interests have inspired and informed my painting style and use of color.

I am truly honored by anyone who enjoys what I create and finds it to be beautiful, amusing, or interesting. The world can always use a bit more beauty and I enjoy contributing to that in my own small – but real – way.

Given everything that is going on in the world today, do you think the role of artists has changed? How do local, national or international events and issues affect your art?
In many ways, I view my artwork as an escape. I want to make people smile, laugh, and say “wow, that’s beautiful!” So many terrible and disappointing things are shoved in our faces via multiple channels each day; I don’t feel the need to give them another outlet. I want to reinforce that beauty still exists, and smiling is still important. As someone who is passionate about the beauty that surrounds us in nature, I also hope that my work inspires others to explore amazing places and advocate for their protection and preservation.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
I am in the process of seeking gallery representation in Arizona. Currently, the best way to see and support my work is online. All available artwork is listed for sale on my website (www.TeressaLJackson.com), and I publish a monthly blog on my site showcasing my creations. I try to keep prices reasonable, as I truly enjoy selling my artwork and sharing it with others. I am also active on social media. I maintain an Instagram page that chronicles my love of nature and the art I create that is inspired by the scenery around me (@teressajacksonart), a Facebook, and a Twitter page.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TeressaLJackson.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/TeressaJacksonArt
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/TeressaJacksonArt
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/TeressaJackson

Image Credit:
Teressa Jackson

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