RORY JACKSON

As a painter, my aim is to bring to life a presence to the viewer, a relationship between the earth and the people who hold covenant with it. Whether it is through light, reflection, movement or design, I want to bring everlasting life to a moment in time. As long as I can sense a progression in the development of my work, painting will remain a central part of my life. I think Robert Henri best states my feeling of what it means to move forward as an artist when he says, “All outward success, when it has value, is but the inevitable result of an inward success of full living, full play and enjoyment of one’s faculties.”

I spend my time between my home in Lincoln, VT and the beach of Cape Three Points, Ghana. While painting the landscape of Vermont, I focus on the dramatic light and space around the mountains and valleys, pivoting on my favorite Mountain of Abraham. In Ghana, I spend time studying seascapes, village scenes, boats, and the reflective light and movement of the sea and the life that depends on its abundance. All honest observation absorbs into my successes, a true vibrancy of life. The balance of the two places keeps my interest in subject matter fresh, while marking each year’s progress in two very different seasons.

I watch both my sons continue the artistic interest in bringing to life these moments we observe. It is a joy to have the privilege to create, and to watch my own children follow their creative intuition, allowing a story to manifest reassures me that I am moving in the right direction.