BIRMINGHAM
MAGAZINE,
October,
2002
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A large-sized piece of Karen Jacobs' work introduces you to her style as you enter her home. An artist by way of hobby-turned-career, Jacobs' art has evolved from realist concepts--paintings of stripes, florals and grasses in the beginning years-- into layerings of bold colors. While she has explored other avenues, like silk-screen prints and encaustics, abstracts on canvas are what she enjoys most. Her theory: the basis for all good paintings should be an abstract. "I think my work reflects the essence of time." she says. It was the passing of time, in fact that fed Jacobs' desire to simplify, leading her to explore abstracts. Patinas of browns, yellows and reds dominate her canvases, with shades of blues and greens often shifting into focus. The colors run parallel, and sometimes yield into each other. "There
are layers (upon) layers of application, so it's not simply color fields,
there's very definitely something there," says Jacobs. "(People)
don't know how much time is spent making it work, making colors fit together
right." she says. Colors that look well together don't always work
best together, Jacobs explains, comparing her art to a jigsaw puzzle where
pieces that might fit into a certain spot cannot complete the puzzle because
they are out of place. "Sometimes the colors just aren't right, they're
not alive and they don't jump out."
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her studio, located downstairs in her home, several works-in-progress hang
on the walls, and others, which have yet to be completed but are not currently
being worked on, line the downstairs hall. Even more pieces are framed
on walls in various rooms throughout her home.
While duplicating her pieces has proven nearly impossible for Jacobs, as well as many other artists, working in a series has become fulfilling. That's what I like to do--take a painting and see how I can take it further than the last one. So I'll sometimes start by copying the idea, but then try to ...let it become it's own entity." Being an artist, which she finds both fun and challenging, was not always an item on Jacobs' agenda. In fact, it wasn't until she was married that she discovered the world of art. A 25 cent per night class Jacobs took during her stay on a military base while her husband served in the Vietnam War first introduced her to the world of art. Now her paintings sell at high-end prices. Her list of accomplishments include having her pieces showcased as a main attraction in this year's movie "The Next Big Thing," and having them exhibited in two Southern Living Renovation Idea houses, including the 2002 home located in Birmingham. View her colors at the NorDys Gallery and at www.karenjacobs.com -Chianti C. Cleggett |
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