I am excited to be the first artist to adorn the walls at the beautiful new Industrious Tempe workspace on Mill Avenue. If you are viewing my artwork in person at Industrious and would like to buy a painting, please make the purchase online by selecting the piece below and show your e-mailed receipt to the staff at Industrious. Yes, you may take the painting with you at the time of purchase!
P.S. - Here’s a link to shop ALL my available art (not just pieces at Industrious).
Industrious Tempe
Exhibition Catalogue
This 8x20" watercolor, entitled "‘T’ View," was inspired by a sunset I caught right outside my door in Tempe, Arizona.
Painting is created with watercolor paint on Arches 140 lb. watercolor paper. It is offered for purchase unframed and ships FREE.
Colors of original painting may be slightly different than what you see on your monitor screen. Artist signature, year of creation, and artwork title are included on back of painting. Copyrights remain with artist.
In 1887, the Chiricahua Apaches were held as prisoners of war in Alabama. They were kept along the Mobile River, on swampy ground, in dense pine woodlands. Longing for the light, they ached for their Arizona home. Some of the men climbed to the tops of the trees just to see the sky.
The Sonoran Desert is a place of light, above, beyond, and before anything else. The open skies and the otherworldly landscape drew me in when I first met it, and my mind relaxed and felt free. Coming from the Midwest where it was rare to have the ability to see for miles, when I am in the desert, I feel like someone took the lid off of my cage.
Sometimes the light is subdued, like it was this February day as I hiked along the spine of Brown Mountain in Tucson Mountain Park. It is, of course, often relentless. Even on a cloudy day, though, there is almost always a patch of blue in that expansive Arizona sky if you look hard enough – and I love that.
Living in Arizona, I often found myself encountering that bit of “blue sky.” Sometimes I made a point of looking for the azure above; Other times, I found it in the people around me. I can only imagine how elusive these both must have seemed to the Chiricahuas in that gray swamp, so far from their ancestral home.
Now living in Southern California, I admit that sometimes I forget to look for the blue sky. It’s true that there are more clouds here, but there’s still a lot of sunshine, too - both literal and figurative. Looking back to this painting is a good way to remind myself of that.
This original painting measures 10.5×16” and comes in a white mat, bringing the final measurement to 18×24”. It was created using watercolor paint on acid free, cold press heavyweight 100% cotton Arches watercolor paper. It ships free.
Colors of original painting may be slightly different than what you see on your monitor screen. Artist signature, year of creation, and artwork title are included on back of painting. Copyrights remain with artist.
I took the photo that inspired this painting in the Painted Desert at Petrified Forest National Park. This original painting measures 14x11” and is sold in a white mat that brings the overall size to 16x20”. The painting was created using watercolor paint on acid free, cold press heavyweight 100% cotton 140 lb. Arches watercolor paper. It ships FREE.
About this piece:
When I was a child, I had a book of the U.S. national parks. I was always enchanted with the idea of the petrified forest, but didn’t see it until I was almost 40 years old. Those transformed logs didn’t disappoint, but what also captivated and surprised me was the brightly colored, undulating landscape of the Painted Desert, also preserved in the park. I returned a couple of months ago and took more photos, the result of which is this painting. If you know me, you know I love irony, and the fact that I painted the “painted” desert is pretty satisfying to me in that respect, too. :-)
Colors of original painting may be slightly different than what you see on your monitor screen. Artist signature, year of creation, and artwork title are included on back of painting. Copyrights remain with artist.
Artist’s Statement
Safety and magic rarely intersect. I am often cautioned against hiking alone, but I never lack company when in the presence of saguaros, hoodoos, mountains, trees, and bees. The moments I spend by myself in nature are as important as the paint I use to coat my brushes, filling me with beauty, inspiration, wonder, and peace. Back in the studio, photographs never quite capture the enchantment or grandeur of my experience. My personal challenge as an artist is to create scenes that convey my perception of the world and transport the viewer to that magnificent moment made permanent.
Teressa at work in her Tempe, Arizona, studio
About the Artist
Teressa Lynn Jackson was born in Enid, Oklahoma, and grew up in the Louisville, Kentucky, suburb of New Albany, Indiana. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from Louisville’s Bellarmine University in 1998. Following graduation, Teressa spent a summer studying Byzantine mosaics and frescoes in Italy with the State University of New York. Prior to returning to her creative roots, Teressa enjoyed a fulfilling 15-year career in the Louisville-area not-for-profit sector.
In fall 2016, Teressa sold her home and most of her possessions and spent a year traveling, connecting with beautiful places and experiences and using those adventures to inform and relaunch her lifelong need to create. In late 2017, Teressa and her husband made their new home in the Sonoran Desert. Ms. Jackson’s work has been shown in a number of juried and non-juried art exhibitions over the past twenty-five years, and she has been the recipient of several awards for her artwork.
A full artist curriculum vitae can be viewed on my “About the Artist” page.