Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Krutick.
Hi Jill, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
The journey to becoming an artist was a circuitous one but one that makes infinite sense if you know me. I loved the arts as a child, particularly playing piano and painting. Born in New York, I was always encouraged to follow my dreams. While that involved six hours a day of piano practice at one point, eventually my focus and energy was directed towards excelling in school and being independent. Business seemed like a sure thing that would lead to this financial freedom and I pursued it with a vengeance. After a fascinating career as an Institutional Investor-ranked equity analyst and corporate media executive, I reached a point where my children were teens and I needed a quiet place to reflect. Painting became that joyful place — which I visited on and off since my childhood — but when the time was right, beginning in 2010, it developed into my greatest passion.
My prior business experiences became a useful prelude to my life as a working artist. I continue to reach for the stars as I always have in life, but now I must marshal all my skills to be the best artist, entrepreneur I can be. Even so, the real pleasure I derive from the artwork I develop is projecting my “eco-warrior” adventure trips and favorite childhood doodles, music and colors on canvases. A form of self-expression, painting provides me with an outlet to embrace my spirit, untangle my thoughts, and connect with others. While primarily self-taught, I did take classes as The Art Students League of New York where I also served on the Board of Control.
From the early Van Gogh and Monet-inspired Abstract Landscapes to the more rigid Geometric and Ice Cube style of paintings, to the atmospheric Shangri La, Dreamscape, and Aurora Borealis series, and then to the free-form Swirl series, my wide range of styles draws on balancing shapes, movement, light, texture, and color.
It wasn’t until I started with watercolors, that my style blossomed and eventually grew into my “Coral Reef” series, a heavily textured, mixed media style. This series is showcased at a solo exhibition at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum in Hamilton Ohio for six months beginning February 23, 2023.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a smooth road?
I always challenge myself to continue to grow as an artist. I have done this several ways.
First, I actively network in the art world. I have hosted exhibitions for other artists in my studio/gallery, created exhibition groups, and joined SHIM Art Network (an artist exhibition service company) to expand the community of artists I work with.
Second, I try to expand the materials I work with — starting with oil, progressing to acrylic, various acrylic mediums, watercolors, and now a mixed blend of collage materials.
Third, I strive to align my materials with my artistic beliefs. This is where watercolor became such a focal point of development. With watercolors, I was better able to capture the aqueous effects of water and add more perspective, depth, and simplicity to my work. Watercolors force me to step away from the creative process and let the water, air, and drying time dictate the result.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work combines abstract expressionism and color field painting with a narrative component. The centerpiece of the “Coral Beliefs” exhibition at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum in the main gallery is a mixed media piece that is almost 85 feet in length and is made up of 25 panels, each 30 inches high and 40 inches wide. The work includes oil, acrylic textures and a variety of paper and plastic that one mind find in an ocean. This work expresses what coral reefs mean to me. The artwork is not just an eco-statement about the urgent need to preserve the fragile coral, but also a philosophical expression about how coral reefs thrive and how that influences everything I do and believe. Corals are interdependent living creatures, gaining strength from one another. Individually they perish, but together they radiate. As an artist, I believe that artists don’t thrive in isolation but bloom with collaboration, networking, and mentoring.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My advice for artists starting out is to produce a body of work that is meaningful to you and exhibit, exhibit, exhibit. Through that process of getting involved in local art groups, your network will expand and more opportunities will percolate. Being easy to work with, flexible, communicative, and willing to market your work is also very important. Use your alumni network, local museums that have artist groups, and other exhibition service companies like SHIM Art Network to canvas opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jillkrutickfineart.com/exhibitions/ph-coral-beliefs
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillkrutickfineart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jskfineart/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillkrutick/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jill_krutick
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jillkrutick6497/videos
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/jillkrutickfineartgallery/
Image Credits
Simone Kurtz.
Jess Paternoster
