Oregon-based artist, Jesse J. Lockwood has been drawing and painting since his early grade school days. Born and raised in the small town of Roseburg, Oregon, he grew up spending a lot of time outdoors talking with the animals. He graduated from Southern Oregon University in 2000 earning a BA in Art and pressed on in 2001 to complete a MA degree in secondary art education. Since then, Jesse has been teaching high school art in the state of California.

Working mainly in oils, Jesse’s unique style gives the viewer a spectrum of imagery that beckons for further visual investigation. He uses an extensive color palette that, at times, has been described as a bit psychedelic. Artistic influences include: Salvador Dali, including his Paranoiac Critical Method, Hieronymus Bosch, Todd Schorr, Robert Williams, Alex Grey, MARS-1, Mark Ryden, Scott Musgrove, James Jean and Shepard Fairey, to name a few.

“My hope is to create paintings that give the viewer full-on visual enjoyment. The process of simply blending colors and creating interesting imagery is of personal therapeutic value for myself... when viewing my work, I want the audience to get a visual sense of wonder, interest and relaxation. I am inspired by the beauty of nature, its relation to us as human-beings and how we interact within it... the diverse characteristics and personalities of animals is also intriguing. Listening to music is very inspiring too”.