Fred Jackson

Fred Jackson has sketched the outdoor landscape since a young age with his father, an artist; “Some dads play catch with their sons, my dad took me outdoors to draw”. Fred’s interest in art and nature guided him to the design field of landscape architecture, where for 30 years he practiced as a landscape architect. Fred now pursues painting full time. Fred began oil painting the landscape about 10 years ago with a desire to explore a personal expression of nature. Fred participates in many prestigious national Pein Air Events across the country, including Wayne Plein Air PA, Gloucester Invitational Plein Air VA., Plein Air Easton MA, Door County Invitational WI, Paint Annapolis MD, The Olmsted Invitational Plein Air Atlanta GA, and may others. He does about 8 Plein Air events a year. Fred’s paintings have won numerous awards and honors. He has gallery representation at Gallery 222 in Malver, PA., Bryan Gallery, Jeffersonville and Stowe VT. The Gallery at Map River Valley Arts, Waitsfield VT, and Church Street Gallery, West Chester PA.

As a plein air painter, I am most inspired by the felt moods and patterns that the natural and cultural landscapes evoke in me. Fred’s unique landscape painting style is loose, bold, and expressive. He often paints thin washes of dark transparent colors combined with passages of opaque thick paint. The paintings have a variety of marks made from bold brush strokes and pallet knives with thick paint. The paintings are strong compositions with a representational structure and abstract painterly marks with expressive color. My painting process is not formulaic. I prefer to work intuitively and improvisational, sometimes with no predetermined result in mind. By painting this way, I hope to capture the fresh energy of the experience.