Jack Flournoy

Just Me and The Paint

For Jack, expressing the landscapes of his inner world through art doesn’t feel like a choice.

Listening to him talk about his creative processes and the compulsion drawing him to create, it’s clear that Jack pours his soul’s energy into his work. “It’s what my body was created to do,” he says.

From the time he could hold a crayon, Jack was creating works of art that blew his parents and teachers away. His brilliant mind and intricate imagination led to an enthusiastic interest in subjects not many three year olds would have cared about. Jack’s mother, Anna, for example, remembers him painting a watercolor abstraction at three years old. When she asked him what the mysterious symbols meant, he explained that he had painted Al Gore eating a lobster.

His creativity continued to expand. In kindergarten, Jack chose to draw at recess instead of play, and his teacher was astounded by his art, his mother remembers. In Little League, he could be found drawing in the dirt instead of watching the ball. And throughout his school days, Jack continued to catch the attention of his teachers who recognized that at a young age, he already had a unique gift.

Growing up in Columbus, Jack was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from iconic artists such as Bo Bartlett. When Jack attended one of Bo’s artist talks at the age of twelve, he asked a thought-provoking question which impressed Bo, and when Bo realized Jack’s potential and passion for art, he took Jack under his wing. “From an early age Jack showed an uncanny ability to grok what art is all about,” Bo recalls, adding, “Jack Flournoy is a force of nature!”

“Bo was incredibly gracious to share his time and talent,” Jack’s mother remembers. Jack began studying with Bo in Bartlett’s studio almost every Saturday, where he was able to receive world class instruction at a young age. “He was fortunate for the opportunity to learn from one of the masters,” Anna says.

“It’s always been his path,” Anna says. When his parents asked Bo how they could support his passion, Bo encouraged them to give Jack all the art supplies he needed and immerse him in the fellowship of other artists. Recognizing the value for an artist to be around other creatives, Jack’s parents sought to give him the chance to do just that and are grateful for the supportive art community in Columbus. “I don’t know where else you could find an opportunity like Jack’s,” Anna says.

Jack, too, is grateful for the support he has found in the local community. “I love the people in Columbus,” he says, “That love can be experienced in my paintings.”

Jack’s art emanates from his mind and life experiences. For him, the creative process is a cerebral, holy trajectory that lands in an explosion of colors and sounds. “Everything I experience converges in my work,” he explains.

His work is visceral, suspended in time, like the drop of water that lingers before falling to the ground. Jack’s award-winning self-portrait “Unfolding Consciousness” is a dance of light and dark and undulating spirit captured in oil on canvas.

“I experience the whole spectrum throughout the process,” Jack explains. “I live painting, breathe painting.” Jack has learned the importance of discipline and forces himself to paint twelve hours a day, explaining that as he works, “Time explodes and is devoured, and I push through until my heart explodes.”

The result is a finished work so expansive that it can only be held in the soul. For Jack, his work reveals the spirit of the moment, a force he discerns behind all life and seeks to capture in the essence of his art. “The pure force of lightning that makes everybody move – that’s my muse,” Jack explains, “Every painting I create has that force of life that moves us.”

Existential, spiritual, and yet still glowing with a boyish wonder, Jack approaches his work seriously, for he feels compelled to show the world the secret, winding paths his mind leads him down. He expresses the belief that there’s a concealed 3D plane that viewers experience when they truly look into art. He wants viewers to feel as if they are alive in his artwork, he says, like they are bathing in it.

For Jack, creating art is a spiritual experience, and he doesn’t limit himself to painting. Jack also writes poetry and fiction, composes music, and plays piano. “It’s all about what gets created,” he says. “He has so much beauty and creativity in his brain, and he uses his art to bring his beauty into the world,” Anna says.

In 2021, Bo Bartlett selected Jack’s work to be featured in the Columbus Museum at a display showcasing established artists partnered with emerging artists.

Jack’s work has received noteworthy attention. “Unfolding Consciousness” won a 2023 Scholastic Gold Medal and an American Visions Award, national awards that only 14 students out of 300,000 applicants received. And this year, Jack had his first solo exhibit at The Goetchius House (405 Broadway).

While Jack appreciates the awards he’s received for his work, he prefers to keep creating as he looks to the future. Recently, Jack received the news that he had been accepted into the New York Academy of Art, where he also received a scholarship. Bo Bartlett sees the opportunity as a promising one for Jack, saying, “New York Academy will be good for Jack. He’ll be surrounded by a group of equally serious young peers.”

The future is wide open for Jack, who undoubtedly has more to say to the world through his art.

For Jack, labels are limiting, and he aims to let his work speak for itself. He works and reworks each piece until he feels its essence is imbued with the ideas, emotions, and energy he wants to convey. A form of communication without words that is innately human, visceral, and personal, Jack’s art is a conversation. “All of my works speak to each other,” he explains.

At 20 years old, Jack Flournoy is just starting out. His work isn’t finished, and so, he ventures into the horizon, paintbrush in hand.

“At the end of the day, there’s just me and the paint,” Jack says.

To learn more about Jack and his art, visit jackflournoy.com. If you hurry, you may find his works still at the Goetchius House.

By Natalie Downey