Director’s Statement

James F. Jackson, in my opinion, is one of the most talented artists ever to call Sheridan, Wyoming home. Jim’s background in art is a wide and diverse one with jobs as museum curator of exhibits, designer of custom tiles and stained glass, artist on major public arts commissioned projects, custom leatherworker and guest lecturer presenting workshops at the Gene Autry Museum in Los Angles, the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia and recently in Tokyo, Japan. Here at the Brinton we applaud him for all of these many facets and we also recognize him as one heck of a superb painter.

I have been familiar with the artist’s work for over 25 years and an associate and friend of James F. Jackson for nearly that long. During that time the impression I have garnered is one of a confident, assured artist, with no pretense or bravado, just a business-like demeanor, whose work, be it leather design & tooling or painting and drawing, is the center of his life.

Like many contemporary artists Jim’s work runs in series. Prior to this show he exhibited his White Hat Series. Jackson uses the series as a theme in which to explore the many facets of rendering that specific subject matter. The range of these renderings spans formal representation to the abstract and a multitude of styles in between. Rather than look at the show and say, “I prefer the realistic, or the abstract” I urge you to take your time to explore the range of the artist’s renderings and how Jim transforms his subjects through all the rendering styles. If you attempt that, you will better understand the art and the artist.

Kenneth L. Schuster