Artist Statement & Biography

Artist Statement
In my current work I try to create excitement while ordering chaos. My paintings are comprised of subjects that are both realistic and abstract, on the edge between here and there. The work is a comment on both thinking and seeing, a study on trying to not see anything for itself alone, but as part of a whole.
My process is a mirror reflection of the finished piece with each step a part of a finished whole. The wood canvas is hand cut and crafted. Then each receives a series of treatments to apply a thin layer of paper texture before being oil primed. This particular series has an antique dress pattern layered in before I paint and sketch with pastels, charcoals and oil paints.

As important as I feel my process is my strength lies in understanding the relationship between light, composition, and design. I feel each finished work displays a distinctive and timeless nature. I strive for a design of harmonious essentials that outlast the subject matter and are both warm and emotionally expressive.

Artist Biography
Jessica Stoddart grew up on a rural farm in middle Tennessee.  The family home predated the civil war.  As the child of photographers, she spent much of her childhood on the road with her parents at art shows.

As she grew, Jessica developed her own love of art and found her own unique style.  For her hard work and creativity, she was awarded an art scholarship to Austin Peay University in Tennessee, where she worked for and earned her BFA in art.  Her college work focused on sculpture.

After college Jessica attended Penland School of Craft in Penland, North Carolina where she studied furniture craft and design.  

A trip to Asheville, North Carolina followed Penland, where Jessica purchased a home and became a Studio Artist at the Grovewood Gallery, near the Grove Park Inn.  She has had a studio there since 2005, and as a studio artist her works in Asheville are only shown at the Grovewood Gallery.

Jessica met her husband, Jon, while at Austin Peay University in 1999 and they have been together ever since.  Jon was with her during her moves through North Carolina and they were officially married in May of 2009 on her family’s' rural Tennessee farm.

During his time with Jessica, Jon learned the art of picture framing and giclee and reproduction printing.  He now does all of Jessica's printing and framing from their home work shop.

Jessica's first solo art festival with her current work was in Maggie Valley, North Carolina in 2005.  Jessica and Jon have been on the road together traveling the country and showcasing her art ever since.

Her current work is the culmination of all of her experience and work and was an epiphany in her art as it combines all elements of her skills and imagination.  Her art is in its very nature an attempt to create an excitement while controlling the chaos of combining the abstract and realistic.  A comment or study, if you will, on thinking and seeing.

Just as important as the creation, is the processing of creating, and Jessica's work is a mirror reflection of her process of creating; and all her sculpture and wood experience are used as Jessica hand crafts her wood canvases before she uses a processes she created to apply antique dress pattern, whose lines and designs she sees as her true canvas.

While her strength lies in her understanding of light, composition, and design, the warmth and expression of her work is the juxtaposition it creates in the eyes, mind and heart of the viewer.  A contrast of what is and isn't there, the old and forgotten against the new, the past against the present all of which creates a lasting future.  An unintended reflection on the struggles and triumphs of modern times.  An epiphany of creation.

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Jessica Stoddart spent her formative years traveling to art exhibits with her parents. Upon graduating high school she attended Austin Peay University where she graduated with honors, receiving a B.F.A. degree. In 2002 she relocated to North Carolina where she completed a concentrated study in furniture making and design at Penland School. She is currently residing in Asheville where she is a Studio Artist at the prestigious Grovewood Gallery.
The show she is currently traveling consists of several original paintings created with materials ranging from oil to charcoal and pastels. Her shellac finishes are reminiscent and well focused. Her subjects are contemporary with great texture and depth. Her creative process incorporates a unique conceptual process blending ideas that reflect beyond the decorative. Since the beginning her work has been considered important and collectable. The fact that she constantly evolves the traditional process is an indicator of things to come. To collect her is to invest in art that transcends décor.


John Murray
Free Life Gallery of Fine Art