I grew up in the Midwest. My family had moved to Illinois from Colorado three years after I was born. My mother was a writer, very creative, but not a visual artist. Evidently my father showed talent at woodworking, although he was disabled for all the years I knew him. At about six or seven, I knew art was something I wanted to do. Later, I remember painting and decorating my room, over and over, at our home in Jerseyville, Illinois, once papering the entire ceiling with road maps. I painted my first oil painting, a still life of my mother’s kitchen utensils, in seventh grade. Never one dimensional, and with help from my buddies, I instigated more mischievous fun than the average troublemaker in grade school. Sports became my passion through my high school years. I then studied painting at Southern Illinois University and graphic design at Arizona State University. After college, I traveled as much as possible, including trips to Alaska, Europe and all of the Rocky Mountain States. My first job as a carpenter in Alaska propelled me into homebuilding as a career. Over the years I continued to paint and eventually show my work in galleries and exhibits. I am the proud father of two children, Matt and Katy, and am married to Charlotte Berry. We live with our dog (nearly a child) Holly in Alton, Illinois.

Searching for my vision is a meandering, thought provoking and sometimes confusing road. Realistic and abstract painting, portraiture, architecture, sculpture and woodworking as well as writing played into my way of portraying life through art. Study of various artists and art history provided an important ingredient also. Searching everywhere and finding obstacles, but continuing to work has been a constant. What I do, love and feel strongly about is at the heart of it, although not always obvious in the finished piece.

Subject matter includes landscape, architecture, identity and home, and the human figure, among others. Structure or form in general is my primary consideration. Explorations along the way came in many themes and motifs, including abstractions of structures. Recently, my emphasis has turned to the extension of line and space, apparent in and around structure of all kinds, into infinity. Out of this investigation came the series of celestials, shape relationships in space, and stripe paintings.

Material and methods are diverse and not limited to specific media or mediums. Painting with oil or acrylic is my major emphasis. Tools are important. I use brushes, trowels, sprayers, chisels, many power tools and more often than she knows things borrowed from my wife’s kitchen. I even resort to searching the web and manipulating images on the computer. My working method is trial and error, all-consuming, and usually fulfilling.

Meaning is as personal to the artist as it is to the viewer – each to his own interpretation. It can be spiritual, cultural, political, erotic or emotional.  Most importantly, I make art because I enjoy the process. This quote sums it up: “Art is like medicine – it can heal.”

Artist Statement

I love wood. As a result of that, I turn pieces almost daily. What pulls me in is the very mysterious mixture of mind, eye and machine to create form from one simple block of wood. My inspiration comes from many sources, including nature and the human figure. The process is to begin with a concept or pleasing form in mind, choose a wood that is right, and let it happen. I do work from sketches also.

After turning the piece, it may be carved, textured, colored and finished with a hand rubbed oil or lacquer. I view this as vital as the turning.

My work is divided into vessels, flasks, lidded boxes and sculpture. More often than not, the wood controls me as much as I control it. We are in this together. I hope you enjoy my work, relate to it and make comments about it.

Jim Lynn | 623 E. 6th Street, Alton, IL 62002
www.jimlynnstudio.com | jc.lynn22@charter.net