Meet the very fabulous Laura Jewell! Laura's nuanced textures and richly colored original landscapes are cherished South Dakota treasures.
Her work has been described as “Serene and enchanting like a quiet night, when you can hear the nature grow.” This seems fitting when you hear how Jewell describes her upbringing in the small rural town of Holton, Kansas. Born in the 1980’s she spent most of her time exploring the family’s eighty acres of farmland with small creek and pond. She explains “There was plenty of time to appreciate the minutia of the life and land surrounding me.” During this time having always been encouraged in her art interests, Jewell recounts the art influences that started her on this artistic path. “My earliest memories of art were the watercolor paintings hanging in my Grandparent’s home one of which was painted by my great-grandmother and several others by my Grandfather. I can also remember asking my grandfather to draw for me; I’d name something and he would start sketching. I believe this is when I first became interested in what I just considered ‘drawing’ at the time, which grew into a yearning to study as many techniques and processes in high school and college as possible and since then has developed into a passion for art.”
Laura Jewell moved from Kansas to South Dakota where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of South Dakota with a focus in printmaking. Jewell also credits a few very inspirational and encouraging professors from this time as having affected her love of art and the creative process. Preferring the intaglio method of printmaking and no longer having easy access to a capable press after graduation, Jewell found a creative outlet in oil paint. She began experimenting with oil on cradled boards and working to achieve an equivalent in paint to the atmospheric plate surface she obtained in her intaglio monoprints and monotypes. She found board to be her preferred substrate enjoying the smooth surface that allows for more movement and freedom in the materials. Now beginning to working in encaustic as well Jewell has found a medium that allows her to mix some of her favorite aspects of printmaking and oil painting.
Jewell has focused on producing quality work and has collectors across the Midwest, Plains and Western regions of the country and also in Australia and Canada. In the last couple years Jewell has participated in a select few of the country’s top art festivals. The very first show she was accepted to was the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver, Colorado as an “Emerging Artist” in 2015. She has also been fortunate to garner the support of her state’s Arts Council when she received the “Artist Career Development” grant for 2016, then again in 2018 for a “Project Grant” for the state parks series of paintings.
Laura Jewell currently lives in Sioux Falls, SD where she is able to enjoy time in her studio each day. Often gathering inspiration, references and sketched ideas in the summer and then settling down and taking advantage of the long South Dakota winters to reflect and express her thoughts through art.
See our current collection or Laura's work here. Commission works are welcome. Please schedule a time to chat with our gallery manager for details.
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