ARTIST STATEMENT
Not a single shirt I own has the tag still attached. I can't stand anything scratchy or itchy, or a misaligned seam on a sock. I notice tiny flaws. I feel them. I am particular and obsessive and a perfectionist. I developed little ticks when I was a kid. I had to repeat movements or make sounds or say words until it felt right inside. From early on I approached art making with the same intensity and focus on perfection. It has always been important to me to work cleanly, accurately,and honestly. I know a painting is done when it just feels right.
In contrast to my approach are my inspirations. I love making art about people. I am inspired by the human experience, our depth and intricacies and flaws. I am inspired by moods and gestures, how people stand and sit, and how they look when they're thinking or having a conversation. I am a dancer and skateboarder inspired by bodies in motion, and I love pulling out a frame and making it a moment. I have attachments to organic, small, colorful, unique and sentimental things. I am inspired by the lives of birds, quotes from books, and lyrics from songs. I am inspired by imperfections and whimsy, the good, the bad and the weird.
I borrow from life and make it art with a soft and reverent approach to the subject. With a quiet concentration, and serious dedication, I focus on the details. I paint thin layer over thin layer until it feels just right. When the moments, the colors, the expressions, and the textures are accurately represented and clearly translated onto my canvases, I know I'm done.
MORE ABOUT JORDAN:
I am a dancer, skateboarder, hiker, dance instructor and figurative artist from Sonoma County. I studied Studio Art at Sonoma State University with a concentration in drawing, and developed a passion for painting in the process. Soon after graduating, I began taking on portrait commissions as I honed in my painting skills and individual style. I began participating in group shows like various skateboard exhibits, and the Colors of the Night at Mills Exhibition at Pond Gallery in Saint James, NY, where I made my first painting sale to a stranger. In 2017 I premiered Valley Box Project, a solo performance and installation at Marin Museum of Contemporary Art in Novato, CA where I took a very personal approach in combining my passions of dance and figurative art. In 2019 I participated in the intimate Emerging Artists group show at the Arts Guild of Sonoma in Sonoma CA leading to real community connections with my work, and in 2024 I celebrated my first solo exhibit The Little Things at Pence Gallery in Davis, CA. These steps in my art journey have encouraged me to continue to put work out in the world, but in reality I am compelled to make art every day. Whether it is painting or choreographing, sketching or dancing, my activities and inspirations are a constant force overlapping and combining to motivate daily creation, and an internal drive to feel right.
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