I have come to learn that if we look at life from a reflective perspective, we are able to see that our lives become an unveiling of something beautiful and every day there is a chance to reveal a little bit more of a great masterpiece. I think that the same holds true for my artwork, who I am as an artist now, and who I will be as an artist later on. I will always continue to learn and grow, and I anticipate that with every work of art, I will most definitely unveil something beautiful.

I am a graphic designer who has come to love creating many forms of artwork including design work, oil painting, drawing, and some photography. My freelance graphic design work is always tailored to the needs of the client to where I research and create work that reflects the purpose and style of the project. I create designs that work well with the client’s style and other materials, but also add that spark of new life that they are looking for in a design. I am also very detail-oriented and work as hard as I can within the time constraints to produce the best work possible. When the design allows for a little bit more freedom, my designs tend to be expressive, natural, and personal. I enjoy collage work and color along with hand-drawn and sans serif fonts. I also enjoy photo-manipulation through creating a layered combination of photographs to form a larger image. I do research and a few sketches, and then dive right into the project. The goal of my designs is to successfully meet the need of the project and create an experience for the viewer that they can relate to. I also want my work to make a difference, so I often choose topics and projects that I am passionate about.

One of my favorite things about art is the process of creating it. I find beauty not only in the work itself, but also often times, in the mess that happens along the way. I love being covered with paint, creating sketches, printing drafts of a project, trimming them on the cutting board, and most of all pushing myself until the work becomes what it was meant to be. A lot of times, I hate my drawings and paintings until they’re done but I have learned not to give up and to trust the process and they end up becoming something beautiful. Whether it is my oil paintings or my drawings, I love expressive mark making and lots of color. I like to incorporate both free expression and purposeful realism. I don’t usually like to keep my hands still for very long, which tends to lead me from more detailed work into dramatic, expressive marks that I put my whole body into. A lot of my subject matter in my paintings so far has been portraiture, which finds stability in the form, but a burst of drama in the background or color to add some personality and expression.

If one were to look at my art, I would expect them to see growth and expression, because that is what art has been for me. It’s been an unveiling of something beautiful, an expression of who I am, and a reflection of the discovery of who that is. I have come to love the statement: “Today, I will create something beautiful,” because whether it is art or just another page in my story, I will thank God for it and know that it is beautiful.


Ashley Jervis - May 2011