Artist Statement
“For the majority of my adult life I have unknowingly catered to the left hemisphere of my brain- I don’t do that anymore, and I am much happier.”
I have dabbled in multiple forms of visual art- from creative merchandising to pottery. However, I now find the paint brush to be my most powerful tool. Only recently did I start exploring this medium. With my niece’s dollar fifty Crayola watercolor set, I painted my first 10 pieces.
I still use said Crayola set from time to time.
Finding myself back in my hometown of Oroville, Ca. after a ten-year stint in Portland, Or., I was afforded a great deal of time for introspection. This can be an uncomfortable place to sit in for too long. I soon began searching for a creative outlet that was immediately accessible. Meditating on a jagged boulder near Lake Oroville in the early morning, surrounded by brilliant blue dragonflies, I was overwhelmed with the desire to paint with watercolors.
My work can lean toward organic surrealism. In a culture controlled by screens and manufactured stimuli, I find my truth through an emic perspective of our non-human inhabitants. Specifically, I have focused a great deal on avian eyes. They represent an intensity and at times mournful view of life.
Artist Bio
Jess Lobo recently returned to Portland Oregon, the city that raised her, after spending 3 years traveling the Sierra Nevada’s. She spent a fair amount of that time in her hometown of Oroville, CA with her mother, who is currently awaiting a double lung transplant, and her father, the town gossip. To her great surprise, this is where she would meet her now husband, become a yoga teacher and even operate a small art studio and gallery. Alas, she came back to Portland to wrap up a few of her unfinished degrees and discover the best ramen in the city.
Please email your ramen recommendations to: [email protected]