A Painter Comes Home: Katie Jacobson finds buzzing art community in hometown Columbus
Katie Jacobson struggled in school, never comfortable with the rigidity and formalism of the subjects. Except, of course, in art. Katie’s grandmother, an artist, encouraged her from a young age to draw and paint, and by the fourth grade, Katie was spending summers at art camps. Where other subjects felt constraining, art, Katie says, “felt free and natural.”
In high school, while stressed about her college prospects, Katie found herself in Sally Bradley’s art class at Brookstone. Sally’s instruction and encouragement gave Katie confidence in her work. Though Katie had always been avid in her work, it was under Sally’s tutelage that she developed the idea that creating could be her professional channel through the world. After high school, Katie enrolled at the University of Mississippi to study art.
She very nearly left school. With her experience—the years of work, first with her grandmother, then at art camps and finally under the guidance of Sally—Katie felt unchallenged by the introductory courses required of new art students. She already possessed the groundwork for more advanced study, and the slog through first year requirements gave her that stagnant, constrained feeling she felt through much of high school.
“I wanted to feel excited,” Katie says, “and I somehow snuck into an advanced painting class.”
The professor was Philip Jackson. Jackson, a noted still-life painter, recognized Katie’s precociousness—and evident skill. He encouraged her to work from nature, not from photographs. Though Jackson’s realism often seems far removed from Katie’s work, with its bright pastels and abstract expressionist influence, his instruction, Katie says, provided her the firm foundation of traditional study she needed to progress as an artist.
After college, Katie found herself roaming the country. She would come home to Columbus for a time, where she took up teaching yoga, before lighting out for Colorado, New Mexico or Tennessee. She has a wanderlust that is reflected in her work; she is often working on multiple series simultaneously, be they landscapes, hummingbirds, mason jars, abstracts, crowded scenes. All the variety of her traveling finds reflection in her bright, vibrating oil paintings.
“I was driven to express new places, new influences,” Katie says, and the bohemianism of this roughly five-year period of moving, exploring and, of course, painting, allowed Katie to soak up new energies, which now are so evident in her recent work. On one return stint in Columbus, Katie worked as a studio assistant to Bo Bartlett and Betsy Eby; with them she learned about the business side of being a professional artist—finances and marketing—which helped her develop the courage to quit teaching yoga and paint full time.
After a ten month sojourn in Taos, New Mexico, where between time in the studio she hiked and explored the mountains, Katie returned to Columbus. She was ready to be near family again, yes, she says, but was also impressed by the growing arts community in her home town.
“There’s a great community here,” Katie says, “and coming home, I felt how strong it is. Everyone that I’m surrounded with wants this place to grow. It’s encouraging and it’s fun.”
Katie’s May 2 show at Pop Uptown, the first pop-up shop and event space in Columbus, married art and live music. Katie showed a variety of work—landscapes, hummingbirds, florals, abstracts—while Nashville indie rockers Paul Nelson played.
“We wanted to make Thursdays a little more exciting,” Katie joked, revealing her broad smile. “Events like that help the community feel a little more connected.”
Katie is the best kind of artist: a busy one. When we sat down with her in her studio, she apologized for what she called “the clutter” (and it is important here to note that we have visited few artists studios free of the accumulated necessities of their work), and explained she has been working mostly out of doors, taking advantage of the beautiful weather on Lake Harding. She keeps a studio at Mill District Studios (3110 2nd Avenue; also home to Highland Galerie, which we profiled in last month’s issue), where she teaches both private and group art lessons in the facility’s classroom. Katie channels the teachers who set her on the path toward a creative life—her grandmother, Sally Bradley, Philip Jackson—and loves helping others on their own creative path. “People come in stressed,” Katie says, “and leave with joy.”
Of course we asked about upcoming shows, and Katie says she has projects in the works. When and what exactly they will be, however, she cannot yet say. For the latest on Katie’s work, upcoming shows, and to learn about her classes, commissions and work for sale, visit KatieJacobsonArt.com.
by Tom Ingram