I Am Not My Season: A Solo Show by John Jameson

"The landscapes presented in this exhibition are narrative recollections of the sensory feelings nature provides. Damp seaweed embedded in the sand, brittle lichen living on a stone or tree, vivid blue-green sky dissolving into the distant land in the humidity and atmosphere - the paintings depict details in tactile specificity, giving particular understanding to the space the viewer is entering. Most of the compositions begin as calm and stable images within a contemplative space but are then infused with additional - even contradictory - emotions such as the excitement and passion one feels when viewing a sun setting on a red sky, versus the anxiety one could feel watching a crimson sky fade to gray in the cold of winter.

Though the individual compositions in the show are about the particular feelings nature bestows on us, when viewed as a whole, the deeper meaning of this body of work becomes clearer. The paintings in this show were made by collecting moments inspired by the colors and stimuli of all four seasons and many times of day. In bearing witness to, and being mindful of, the changing of the seasons - seeing Winter trade its gray for its first greens, squinting at summer's sunsets, watching a dark Autumn rain approach over the sea- we come to a greater understanding of the passage of time and our own mortality. Whatever is felt in the time we are given, for better or for worse, is ever fleeting. For another take on this, consider briefly this song lyric: "Though I liked summer light on you, if we ride a winter-long wind, well time's not what I belong to, and I'm not the season I'm in." The lyric is from the Fleet Foxes' song "I Am Not My Season" which this show borrows its title from and shares many themes with. In particular, the acknowledgment that the changes we face are subject to the passage of time, and how we must carry the joys from kinder seasons into the ones we have to simply endure.

When we recall in a visceral way the experience of how the human body feels in nature, in all of its delights or turbulence, we have a chance to achieve a greater sense of place and - if it is shared empathy. Each piece in this body of work seeks to take a moment, a sensation, or a time of year and - through the meditation that comes with the processes of painting-provide a space for the viewers to center themselves. The exhibit invites viewers to remember specific moments in their own lives when they felt connected to the natural world, and their existence in it. This connection is regrettably forgotten by many amidst the tumult and unrest of contemporary life.

As a final note, while the location of each scene is not strictly of the highest priority, nearly all of these paintings are of locations within 30 miles of the exhibit. Most viewers who have lived here for a while will find a sense of the familiar. Yet, within that shared familiar, there is an attempt to celebrate both the sublime grand spectacle, as well as the captivating intimacy one feels in nature in all its seasons."

I am not sure exactly when the show will be taken down (sometime this month though), but you can contact John if you would like to inquire, buy a painting, commission a piece, etc. He is quite friendly and would love to talk to you about his work. These pieces are wonderful in person so please go if you can!

www.johnjamesonpaintings.com