Biography
Jason Drake is an Appalachian Mountain based artist living in North Carolina who creates realist paintings in oil, watercolor, and egg tempera. His art features the figure in nature and detailed views of the natural world around him.
Working as a freelance illustrator during his college days helped him develop his drawing skills. His later experience in advertising design honed his sense of composition and detail that has carried over into his paintings. Becoming a full-time realist painter after years of corporate work was the fulfillment of a life-long dream that started when he was young.
Jason’s work has been exhibited in galleries in North Carolina, Vermont, Cape Cod, Charleston, and the C.M. Russell Museum in Montana. He holds the distinction of winning international awards in all three mediums: oil, watercolor and egg tempera and Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine named him an artist to watch. His online egg tempera training course has positioned him as a source of professional insight in a very niche segment of the fine art world.
Artist Statement
I paint primarily in egg tempera, an ancient medium of detailed brush strokes and overlapping colors where I make the paint each day combining color pigments with egg yolk. This was the form of painting taught to Michelangelo but my work is more influenced by the modern mastery of Andrew Wyeth. When you paint with this method, you work slowly, building layer upon layer with the patience of a craftsman. It's an unhurried style that I enjoy.
My subjects are close friends and vignettes of the rural and natural scenery around me.
I wish to make viewers pause and reflect when interacting with my work, and to feel a connection with my compositions by allowing them to place what they see into the context of their own experiences. I’m not trying to create decorative pictures you’d see on a postcard - Rather, I paint to depict memories that stir something deeper inside.
Because I paint things that hold meaning for me, I present them in a detailed and direct way. I believe viewers initially respond to the composition of a painting, but it is the detail that causes them to look over and over again. It’s not my technique that I want to be known for, but rather the depth of my compositions in my body of work.
A commitment to producing works that reflect the glory of God and the dignity of Man infuses my efforts on every piece.
MEMBERSHIPS - Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America, American Watercolor Society, North Carolina Watercolor Society, Artists Rights Society
Exhibits
2019 14th International ARC Salon Exhibition, European Museum of Modern Art, (MEAM) Barcelona, Spain, December 6, 2019 – February 2, 2020
2019 Blowing Rock Frameworks & Gallery, Blowing Rock, NC - Solo Show - August 19-31
2019 Hickory Museum of Art - Blue Ridge Realists 50th Anniversary Exhibit - Hickory, NC, April 28 - August 18
2018 Blowing Rock Frameworks & Gallery - Small Works: A Group Exhibit, Blowing Rock, NC, August 6-20
2018 South Street Art Gallery Group Exhibit, Easton, MD, July 6-20
2018 Collins Galleries Summer Salon, Orleans, MA, July 14-28
2018 Robert Lange Studios, The Color of Water - watercolor Exhibit, Charleston, SC, January 5 - February 28
2017 Collins Galleries Small Works Holiday Exhibit, Orleans, MA, November 20-30
2017 Bennington Center for the Arts - Artists for the New Century, Bennington, VT, September 9 - December 31
2017 Blowing Rock Frameworks & Gallery - Close to Home, Solo show, Blowing Rock, NC, August 14-26
2016 Robert Lange Studios Remnants, Charleston, SC, May 1-30
News & Awards
January 2023 - The oil painting, Eventide, was chosen to receive the Southwest Art Magazine Award in the 16th International ARC Salon Competition. The painting will be featured in the June issue of Southwest Art Magazine in connection to an article on the 16th ARC Salon Competition. Read more…
November 15, 2019 - “Bring Back the Old West” egg tempera painting was awarded finalist in the Non-Commissioned category of the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition. Read more…
July 1, 2019 - “Daybreak at River’s Edge” was awarded second place in the Animal category of the 14th International ARC Salon hosted by the Art Renewal Center. Read more…
December 2018 - My painting, “Daybreak at River’s Edge” was named a Finalist in the category “Animals as the Subject” in the Portrait Society of America Members Only competition for 2018. Read more…
May 2018 - Selected by Fine Art Connoisseur magazine as one of “Three To Watch” artists for the year. The article by writer Allison Malafronte described my work by writing, “With so much thought, observation, and reflection behind each piece, it is clear why Drake’s paintings frequently cause viewers to pause.” Read the full article here.
December 2017 - "Morning Chores" (16 x 24 in., watercolor on paper) was named a Finalist in the Still Life category in the Portrait Society of America Members Only competition for 2017.
August 2017 - Blowing Rock Frameworks & Gallery hosted a solo exhibition of work in a show titled, "Close to Home." Fourteen pieces were offered including watercolors, oils and egg tempera paintings.
August 2017 - High Country Magazine featured an article on Jason’s painting career and promotion of the upcoming solo exhibition at the Blowing Rock Frameworks & Gallery in Blowing Rock, NC. Read more...
August 2017 - The Mountain Times newspaper displayed an article on Jason’s recent solo exhibition at the Blowing Rock Frameworks & Gallery in Blowing Rock, NC on the front cover along with stories on the total eclipse.
May 2017 - "Time to Dream," a figurative oil painting depicting my friend Shamba Wright in his quest to follow his artistic dreams was included in a Fine Art Connoisseur magazine article entitled "More Than Just Faces" under the recurring section, "Today's Masters." This painting was selected alongside the work of 29 other outstanding artists.
March 2017 - The egg tempera painting, "The End of Summer", was exhibited at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, MT and offered for sale at The Russell, the annual fundraising event hosted by the museum. The auction accounted for $5.6million in art sales. Read more...
December 2016 - The egg tempera painting, "The End of Summer" was named a Finalist in the category, Non-Commissioned Portrait in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition for 2016.
November 2016 - The egg tempera painting, "The Promise of Spring" is displayed in a Fine Art Connoisseur magazine article entitled, "The Enduring Appeal of Youth" that looks at recent examples of contemporary artists who capture children in their paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and other art forms. the pages offer 26 images of art from some of the best and most recognized figurative artists in the country today. Read more...
October 2016 - "The End of Summer" has been selected for inclusion at the Russell Event, an exhibit and fine art auction at the C.M. Russell Museum in Great Falls, Montana in March 2017. Read more...
November 2015 - The oil painting, "Saddle Up" was selected for an honorable mention in the category, Still Life in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition for 2015. Learn more...
October 2014 - The oil painting "Grandfather Mountain Reverie" was judged a finalist in the Figurative Category of the Art Renewal Center (ARC) 2013-2014 Salon. With an approximate 2200 entries by over 1,000 artists, the 2013/2014 ARC Salon competition only selected 685 finalists. Learn more...