PARRIS JARU

Abstract painting with reference to animals. Bright yellow and blue colors applied with a strong brushstroke and outlined by a fine line. Title: The Squares that Define
Abstract painting with reference to animals. Bright yellow and brown colors applied with a strong brushstroke and outlined by a fine line. Title: Walking the Continuous Path
Abstract painting with reference to animals. Bright yellow, blue, green and brown colors applied with a strong brushstroke and outlined by a fine line. Title: Brother's Keeper
Expressionistic painting of a man. Bright yellow, green, and brown colors outlined by a fine line. Title: Angel on My Shoulder
Expressionistic painting of a woman. Bright yellow, turquoise, green, and brown colors outlined by a fine line. Title: A Link To the World
Expressionistic painting of a man and a woman in red and brown colors against a skyline. Title: The Tourist
Expressionistic painting of a man and a woman in red and brown colors. Title: His and Her's
Expressionistic painting of a young man carrying a rifle in red, blue, and brown colors. Title: Ambushed in Africa
Expressionistic painting of a young woman with big green eyes. Bright orange, turquoise, and brown colors colors. Title: The Skin I'm In
Abstract painting with reference to nature. Mainly red and yellow colors. Title: Blackened by Nature
Painting with a poem by the artist laid on a light and dark blue background. The surface is made of a thick impasto with words and numerals written in sgraffito. Title: Mineral Deposit
Painting with a poem by the artist laid on a light and dark blue background. The surface is made of a thick impasto with words and numerals written in sgraffito. Title: A Drop in the Pond
Painting with a poem by the artist laid on a green and beige background. The surface is made of a thick impasto with words and numerals written in sgraffito. Title: Shaped by the Elements
Painting with a poem by the artist laid on a dark background. The surface is made of a thick impasto with words and numerals written in sgraffito. Title: Appropriate Measure
Painting with a poem by the artist laid on a dark background. The surface is made of a thick impasto with words and numerals written in sgraffito. Title: Genetically Modified
Highly textural black and white painting with political statements written in sgraffito. Title: Black and White
Highly textural black and white painting with political statements written in sgraffito. Title: Apache Revolution
Small expressionist oil painting representing a man in black, green and beige colors. Title: The Last Time I Saw It
Small expressionist oil painting representing an animal in black, turquoise and acqua colors. Title: The Valley of Dancers
Small expressionist oil painting representing a mask, in turquoise and acqua colors. Title: The Other Mask
Small expressionist oil painting representing a face, in turquoise and acqua colors. Title: Head Full of Air
Small expressionist oil painting representing a face, in turquoise and acqua colors. Title: Octopus Huggs
Small expressionist oil painting representing fantastic animals, in pink, beige and acqua colors. Title: A Place to Hide
Small expressionist oil painting representing fantastic animals, in orange and black colors. Title: Gun Control

STATEMENT


Throughout my life I have always been dedicated to Art but painting has added a patience of perception and love to my conscience mind, as well cultivating my unconscious. Painting gives me a confidence and inner security that has been hard for me to attain elsewhere. When I say a piece has turned out really well, a certain balance has been achieved between composition, perspective, color and depth giving my creative side a jolt. Although my works change frequently in form depending on mood and inspiration, the one thing that remains the same in all my works is an abstract touch. I am drawn mostly to abstract expression for the free-flowing aspect of creation.

My favorite material is Plant-Pigment-Powder (ex; Sea Algae, Hibiscus, Gymnema Sylvestre and Turmeric powder. Mixing these pigments reminds me that nature is the purest example of artistic perfection and composition open to interpretation for all. With this understanding I am able to open communications with the energies of nature. the main purpose of these herbs are for medicinal healing, when I add it to my medium it adds an ethereal quality to my works. When I select my materials, I am very specific with my choices, after trial and error I work exclusively with denser herbs giving me the texture I desire and is compatible with oil paints and acrylics, adding depth and longevity to the works. Although I am drawn to blues, reds and blacks for body, my favorite colors are the highlights, whites, yellows and light grey. I know a piece is done when it feels right, with clarity, movement and composition also complementing my sense of imagination. When my work is going well, I am filled with a sense of wonder and creative joy open to all possibilities of creation. When people see my painting’s I like them to share a part of my thoughts and inspiration, looking at the artist and his works from the inside. I reach my end goal when the painting has connected another link in the chain of an individual’s emotions.

ABOUT THE WORK


NY-born Parris Jaru comes from a Jamaican, Blackfoot Nation, and Arawak Nation background from both his parents. His work is informed by the vivid colors and imagery experienced in his childhood years spent in the coastal town of St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica. His exploratory journeys in India enriched his work with a sensibility to natural plant-based pigments that he grinds with oils for his paintings. In his Brooklyn studio, Jaru brings all these cultural inspirations together. His entire body of work is informed by an intentional childlike, faux-naïve style, constantly shifting between figurative and abstraction. Even though at times, Jaru has been working on somber and entirely figure-free paintings, most of his work is defined by poignantly colored and playful surrealistic figures. Jaru often draws his figures with a continuous line emerging from a thick impasto of paint made with powders of Sea Algae, Hibiscus, Gymnema Sylvestre, and Turmeric.