Artist Profile

Ryan Jensen

16 x 20"                                                                             Oil

   Art has surrounded Ryan Jensen from birth. His mother, a graphic designer, worked from her home studio producing magazine covers for software and other companies in Silicon Valley. His father, David Jensen, was a well known California oil painter. Ryan can remember being driven to school by his father who, with paint covered hands, would point out interesting perspectives to his young son. Although Ryan wasn't particularly interested in painting at that time, it is obvious that the lessons of his father were becoming embedded and would resurface when he picked up paint brushes full time as an adult. The one constant throughout his childhood, however, was his pencil. "I was always sketching, all the time. I couldn't help it. There were drawings all over my homework and everything else."

  Jensen carries a small sketchbook with him to do compositional thumbnails, but prefers to just dive in head first to his canvas. "It gets my blood pumping to jump into it." He pushes himself working on very large canvases, many 60 x 40", attempting to complete them in about three hours, all en plein air. "I separate myself as much as I can from my work—focus on what I'm looking at. Whatever happens, I don't erase or wipe it off. I just try to have the courage to leave it alone and focus on what I'm looking at."

  
Two 60 x 40" Plein Air Oil Painting by Ryan Jensen

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Visit Ryan Jensen's website at:
http://ryanjensenartwork.com