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Jay Schmetz Statement & BIO

JAY SCHMETZ

BIO

From an early age I have been exposed to art.   As a young child my parents would enroll me in painting and drawing classes at the JEA in Rockville MD.  I can still remember the excitement and enjoyment I had in taking these classes. They would also take me to the National Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn in Washington DC a few times a year.   I still remember the prints by Raphael Soyer and Isabelle Bishop which are still hanging there.  One day in elementary school (I think it was in a 3rd or 4th grade art class) my art teacher surprised me by telling me that I had won a school art award for a pastel drawing I did of wheat in a basket.

I look back on these experiences as life defining moments that helped push me to pursue art as a profession.   After graduating from high school, I attended junior college for a year.  Then I went off to St. Augustine to attend Flagler College. At Flagler I earned a bachelor’s degree in art/education.  I worked for two years before deciding to go back to school to earn my master’s in painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design.  Since then I have been fortunate enough to continue painting professionally and have shown in galleries all around the country.

As a painter I am interested in exploring and experimenting with painting techniques and formal elements of painting such as color, composition, and line to create pictures that are unique and beautiful. I work from life and imagination. I also find inspiration in the things closest to me such as my pets.  I have ten potbellied pigs and seven dogs.  My wife and I love animals and we both have lives that are involved with them.   My wife, Charese is a pre-vet student and works in veterinary medicine while I paint what I call "whimsical animal paintings".  I love the dog and pig subjects, but have enjoyed expanding the subject to include any animal that is appropriate.  Ultimately, my greatest thrill is to make someone smile or laugh through my paintings.

STATEMENT

Through painting I am able to express myself and make statements about life.  I am a "people watcher", I enjoy observing human nature, situations, society,  and behavior.  I choose to paint everyday scenarios relative to any viewer. My approach is more light-hearted because I use animals in the place of people.  The animals I use are metaphors for individual human characteristics. One of my main intents is to make someone smile or laugh.

I am inspired by my pets.  I have a strong connection with these animals and know them as individuals with very different personalities.  I have a strong empathy for animals and hope the paintings will inspire others to have compassion for them as well.

Of equal importance to me are the formal elements of painting such as color, composition, line, surface quality and use of space.  The works of Picasso, Matisse, and Van Gogh are great influences on the evolution of my painting technique.  I strive to create unique and entertaining pictures that would be considered contemporary, original, and recognizable as a Schmetz painting.

For More Information Contact:
Ellen Chisdes Neuberg, Owner/Director
GalleriE CHIZ
5831 Ellsworth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15232
Tel: 412-441-6005
FAX: 412-661-5662
Internet: galchiz@hotmail.com