Meet Adam Jackson: Professional Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adam Jackson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adam, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risking everything is the life of an artist. Do you remember the feeling of showing your art to your fellow classmates? Do you remember anyone crying? I do! That fear of being judged is the life of an artist and why, to be an artist is an inherent risk. Contemplating risk got me thinking about the night I stepped of the bus to boot camp. I have never been more terrified. I only remember thinking one thing. That I had just made the biggest mistake of my life, but now looking back I know it was worth the risk. I also know what pushed me to take that second step towards boot camp. I wanted to be an artist. After getting out 4 years later the U.S. Navy GI Bill allowed me to go to ASU where I received my bachelors in Fine Art emphasizing Oil Painting. I then became an Art teacher for people with physical and/or cognitive disabilities primarily focused on dementia. So…then 2020 rolls around and the pandemic hits. I find myself stepping off the bus to boot camp again. I have always dreamed of selling my artwork and I have decided to take that first step of the bus at AdamJacksonFineArt.com…plus it’s the Great Conjunction.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am an oil painter primarily and I try to search for a greater understanding of my reality through painting. One of the concepts I’ve been perusing is the creation of personally defined relics or reliquaries in the form of an oil painting. As with all my paintings my process various depending on the context surrounding the central intent of the piece. Sometimes I experiment by simply doodling meditatively or perhaps I will use different techniques to manipulate dreams in more demanding circumstances. My goal is always to explore my mind and my imagination through experimentation. I am drawn to the cryptic, am fond of hidden messages and the life behind symbols. I find myself trying to capture thoughts on canvas as if it were a piece of witches ingredient or a specimen in a formaldehyde jar in a lab. Some of these ingredients may include the abstraction of the imagination, the impression of a nightmare, or even the usage of oil painting in the historical/spiritual recording of celestial events. In many of my paintings I filter the outside world through the imagination or thought itself through the imagination. This is how I like to think of my paintings, as objects dripping with imagination or filtered through one my many Mancer lenses. I need paintings with multiple interpretations, creation stories, or perhaps ambiguous pareidolia inspired healing properties. I am now a fulltime artist and have been given the opportunity to continue tinkering with my paintings and their ingredients until I feel satisfied with each individual recipe. I am currently posting all my work to Instagram (adamjackson_fineart) and at my website (adamjacksonfineart.com).

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a born and raised Arizonan I have become visually exhausted with the dessert and if given the chance, will always try to go to the different forests in northern and NE Arizona. The Art culture of Flagstaff is booming and along with its beautifully old haunted buildings one will always come away inspired and ready to paint. FYI Arizona is also known for its breweries…just in case you were wondering.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to thank Arcelia Borbon for her support and patience during the last few years. Arcelia is the current Art Teacher at Kurr Elementary School and has been the love of my life for 7 years now. She has helped me through some of the hardest parts of my life and without her, I could never have started my own art store (AdamJacksonFineArt.com) or become the man/artist I am today.

Website: http://www.adamjacksonfineart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamjackson_fineart/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Adamjacksonart/
Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AdamJacksonFineArt

Image Credits
Oil paintings by Adam Jackson at AdamJacksonFineArt.com