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ARTIST INTERVIEW SERIES - Jerry Wray - Shreveport, LA Painter
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ArtTRUST - You have been painting for over 50 years, why do you paint?
Jerry-- If I don't paint, I feel something is missing in my life. It is the way I can express how I feel about my self, my relationship to God, my relationship to nature on a level that I cannot express with words.
ArtTRUST - According to your website, are you trying to touch your inner child?
Jerry-- Through my new work, I am exploring fantasy, child-like symbols, and universal symbols that seem to be part of our heritage. To further explore, I paint with my grandchildren in the summer. Their playfulness inspires me to return to that part of me that is very creative.
ArtTRUST-- You have a lot of enthusiasm, what is its source?
Jerry -- I have something I want to say and a determination to say it. This gives me a lot of energy and helps me overcome physical ailments and fatigue. There is so much to do and so little time to do it.
ArtTRUST-- You are one of the most prolific painters around, where do you get constant flow of creativity?
Jerry -- Each painting is an inspiration from the painting in progress. Sometimes, I work on four or five at once and let them speak to each other. Since one sentence cannot make a speech, one painting cannot say it all.
ArtTRUST--How do you get re-inspired when you haven't been painting for a while?
Jerry -- I always leave work-in-progress to warm up on when I return.
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Window on the Altar"
29" x 41" Acrylic on Canvas
Jerry Wray
artist
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"Red Plaid Rabbit"
Watermedia
Jerry Wray, artist
A 1992 BREAKTHROUGH . . .
Jerry experienced this while pouring brilliant new inks on paper. She visualized an overlay of symbols in the pourings, most notably the fish symbol. Other Christian and primitive symbols began to appear in her work.
She had other breakthroughs in 1996, using cold water dyes and wax resist for lines similar to batik. She found the results startling and different, the uniting design element is line. "I do not feel that a painting should be exclusively abstract or realistic," says Jerry. "I often travel freely between them, even combining the two when necessary to convey my emotions and innermost feelings."
Jerry has exhibited her work in galleries and shows nationwide. She is a highly motivated and energetic grandmother who has painted over 1000 works of art in the last ten years while finding time to also create her own special sculpture. (she was one of seven organizing members of the Red River Sculpture Society)
Her art has spread into many markets. She participated in ArtExpo in New York and most recently, Miami. One of her paintings has been added to the Biblical Arts Center's permanent collection called St. Peter's Dream in Dallas.
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Each year, Jerry attacks her work with an ever-increasing energy level and moves on to greater heights.
Even with all all this activity, she doesn't neglect her continuing education and her contact with many of her former teachers.
Jerry is one of the most productive artists in the Shreveport area, having painted over 1000 paintings in the last few years.
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Whimsical Sculpture
by Jerry Wray
She uses found objects, paints them with bright colors, and assembles them into very creative shapes.
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