Jake’s paintings explore the connection he has with the environment and community around him. The pieces explore themes of identity, sense of self, emotions and connectivity. The environment moulds and shapes the figure, trying to represent the feeling that was present. The figures, formed from loose abstraction emerge, flow, and develop shape in more rigid sculptural like forms. The paintings often take on a spiritual undertone reflecting the sensation of something greater than ourselves and being a part of a whole.

Jake works with oil on canvas using a mixture of brush and pallet knife work. Like the figures that are formed from their environment Jake likes to show the stages of the creative process in the finished piece with parts of the painting showing exposed canvas and loose underpaintings in areas. The viewer is invited to witness and understand the formation of the piece to join and connect with the journey of figurative creation.

Jake works from life, sketches are abstracted into forms, and then painted on canvas. The painting process is intuitive and organic allowing the initial design to adapt and grow as the piece develops.