I'm working on a new body of work. Cityscapes for a show at Arton9th scheduled for Mid September. This work is a combination of phototransfer, acrylic paint, oil paint and encaustic. New directions in my work has me very excited!  Here is a little peak.

ORIGINAL ARTWORK. PROFESSIONALLY FRAMED AND READY TO HANG. SIGNED AND ARTIST BIO ON THE BACK. Available at the Western Showcase July 5-16th. View my FACEBOOK PAGE to see my shop!

THE DOWNTOWN VITALITY AWARDS ARE GIVEN ANNUALLY TO BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS IN RECOGNITION OF SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS IN ENHANCING THE VITALITY OF DOWNTOWN CALGARY.

The painting they used is called, 'Stephen Avenue' and you can find it in my Big City Living painting series.
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This was a commissioned piece. This couple has a home in Nelson, BC and they wanted a painting of the house, but also to include the beauty of the mountains and their view. Susan provided me with a few photos and the story about the house.  It was a pleasure to create these pieces for Susan and John. 
Here is their response:
Hi Jake, 
 John and I love the pieces, we hung them in our entry so we see them as we come and go to work, to remind us of our dream. We’ve had lots of compliments and have sent a number of people to your website.  Thanks again Jake, I really enjoy your work, 
Susan Otterson
Owner & President of ABL Imaging

Both of these pieces are hanging in the CMLC office in the old St. Louis Hotel. 

Both paintings are 2' x 4' painted on wood canvas. I used acrylic paint, ink, collage and resin. I did a lot of photography and sketching on site before painting the pieces.

When I first got to Calgary in 2003, I was painting the places of Mission district (4 st SW). I was living there so I could sketch, paint and photograph the area every day. Now I do the same in the East Village. It takes a long time for me to get to the painting stage in my cityscapes. I play around a lot with sketching and photography first. Putting things to scale are not important - rather including all the elements in a scene that give a mood and a feel to a place. 

"Oh my goodness, they are gorgeous!" - Kandace Wylie-toews

This article was published in the Metro by Aaron Chatha on August 11, 2016. (click photo for link)

Local Etsy business owners will soon be offered the chance to move their virtual shelf space into the real world – specifically, into the Glenbow Museum.
The virtual market place has struck a deal with Calgary’s Glenbow to allow Etsy members to create new and unique products for the museum.
The Etsy marketplace allows users to sell their homemade goods through the website.
“We have so many talented artists and makers here in Calgary and Alberta,” said Jenny Fisher, Glenbow marketing manager. “It’s always fun to find ways to activate the collection – we have so much really cool stuff at Glenbow and only a small portion of it can be on display at one time.”
They’ll be taking in applications from anyone in the province, and select a small portion of them to go behind the scenes at the Glenbow. There’s a ton there for them to see.
The Glenbow houses more than 30,000 pieces of artwork, plus objects like tea cups, dresses and massive gambling tables from Western Canadian history, military history, Japanese samurai armour and even medieval weaponry. And that’s only the tip of the iceburg.
The museum will try to match selected applicants with items or eras that interest them, in the hopes they’ll be inspired to make something cool for the store.
“We have sort of crossed that line between art museum and cultural history museum. For us it’s all about the art of making and things that have been created, used and have importance in peoples lives,” explained Fisher.
The final products will be looked at by a jury, and the best items will be selected for the storefront.
“By partnering with Glenbow's supportive community Etsy can help local artists expand on their creativity, create new work and grow their businesses,” said Erin Green, managing director of Etsy Canada.

I love our libraries! I think they are a very important element in a healthy and vibrant community. Calgary does such a great job of supporting the ongoing health of our libraries. Here, my art and me get to mingle with the general public and we have great conversations about the work. Art in the library is so accessible and it feels like a great connection to why I paint in the first place. 

Thank you Calgary Public Library!
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