Simulacramorphous-HAPPY LEAP YEAR

Simulacramorphous, 11x22" woodcut, contact artist for price

Try placing that word on the Scrabble board! This is one of my first attempts at printmaking ever. This woodcut opened up a part of my creative mind that I haven't tapped into much. During the senior year of my undergraduate studies, I took a couple of printmaking classes just to fulfill some lingering electives - after all I was a painting major. Notwithstanding a very restricting first Professor, I was taken instantly with the medium and the process of black and white compositions. As a painter I spend most of my days dealing with color issues. Now, confronted with the void of hues I was free to express my sentiments in a very graphic nature - visually speaking as well as subject matter.

This piece is a strong cultural commentary. The title derives from the term simulacrum which has been used in journal essays to describe the works of Andy Warhol. Basically, a simulacrum is a copy of a copy - a watered down and distorted whisper of reality. I thought that this would serve my purpose in this image well.

Look forward to seeing more prints coming to this site soon. It's become a strong second love for me! Please contact me to purchase one of these prints. The editions are very limited. Best wishes - JK

The Lamb of God - DONATED

Behold, The Lamb of God, 40x40" oil on canvas

A local church contacted me over a year ago to create an original Nativity painting to be used for an annual Interfaith Nativity Exhibit. I immediately thought of this composition. I had never seen a Nativity piece with the Christchild as the only figure fully visible. I equally like the idea that the viewer is in Mary's place and therefore interacting with Christ. The entire painting flows with traditional classical imagery and has many significant details.

This painting was donated to the church following the Nativity Exhibit and continues to be displayed each year.

Bride's Maid

Ashley, 26x52" oil on canvas

This is my little sis, Ashley. I wanted her to get something special for highschool graduation. In this piece I was inspired by the trompe l'eoil genre and messed around with it. I used a BW photograph for the reference (which I do often) and found that by keeping the landscape in greyscale it actually helped push Ashley to the foreground - she almost leaps off the canvas! I let her lower body blend more into the surrounding area by leaving only light washes of pigment. It was hard to give away!

Baptist Medical Center East

Ida V. Moffett, David Satcher, and William Gorgas, all 4x4', acrylic on panel

These were all part of my volunteer service at the Baptist Medical Center East during my senior year at Auburn University. I had a close aunt pass away after spending much of her life in and out of hospitals. I decided that there should be beautiful, meaningful pieces of art adorning the walls of hospitals because many people get their last look at life while in hospitals and why should they be stuck with drab and macabre settings? They shouldn't! I hope that my art fills the walls of many more hospitals in the near future!

More Portraits

Here are additional portraits that were done as commissions for friends.

Jesse's Wedding Gift

Charlotte, 24x36" Acrylic on mounted canvas, contact artist for price

My regular artworks were postponed by the wedding of a good friend of mine. For his wedding gift I wanted his wife and him to have a wonderful bridal portrait that I hope will become a family heirloom. As is my custom, I used more than half a dozen different reference photos to create this one-and-only composition to be separate from the hundreds of wedding day photographs taken by family members and the hired photographer.

Grace Church - SOLD

Grace, 18x24" watercolor $500

This is taken from the garden area of Grace Episcopal Church near Pike Road, AL. I thought the simplicity of the slender arched windows grounded by the beautiful flowers below was perfect for this watercolor. I plan to do more works from the plethera of photos I shot that day.

Gateway at Shakespeare Gardens - SOLD

Gateway, 18x24", watercolor $500

This is a colorful piece. My wife and I love this garden area so much that we had our engagement photos taken here years ago. It is located behind the Shakespeare theatre at the Blount Cultural Park in Montgomery, AL. The trickiest step was to know when to stop adding more colors!

Downtown Ultra - SOLD

Downtown ULTRA, 18x24" watercolor

Here's another shot of Montgomery's downtown area. This location caught my eye as I was searching for a particular street in the maze of "oneways" that is downtown. I was mostly impressed with the colors that lept out at me and I just had to shoot some reference photos so I could capture this in a painting.

Union Station - SOLD

This piece is one of my favorites. There is so much history here in downtown Montgomery. It is 18x24" and is $500.