"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere" - Vincent Van Gogh
ABOUT AMY
Amy Jobes is a contemporary landscape painter based in North Devon.
Born in Salisbury in 1982, and now living in North Devon, she has spent most of her life in close proximity to National Parks and the ocean. A self-taught artist, she has practiced painting consistently since early childhood and started selling work when she was 15 years old.
Her rural upbringing and love for nature led her to study Biology and Geography BSc at Exeter University, and she worked on climate change with the Environment Agency for eight years. This time anchored her understanding of environmental issues and the great service that nature provides to us.
After starting a family in 2012, Jobes took a leap of faith and moved from Bristol to North Devon, following her dream of living by the ocean and becoming a professional artist.
Jobes’ early works were concerned with forming a connection with the natural world which we are all intrinsically part of.
She has since developed a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of all life, a luminous truth which shines through her latest pieces.
The huge skies and grand expanses of the local beaches evoke feelings of connection with both our delicate and beautiful natural world, and the mysterious aspects of our higher consciousness.
Emotions recalled by these experiences allow each painting to be created from the heart and woven with soul. Each image is an authentic celebration of the joy experienced when we connect with nature.
Although the foundation of her practice is based on traditional methods, Jobes prefers to work intuitively to create evocative impressionistic oil paintings.
Experiments with media and mark marking are often used to build primary layers. Mixed media to incorporate texture such as collage, gold leaf and acrylics are used to allow random and abstract structures to emerge organically. This initial work determines the evolution of the final layers, which allows room for subjective interpretation of the landscape.
Jobes works from her log cabin garden studio on the exposed and dramatic North Devon coast, just along from the rugged terrains of Exmoor.
She shares her paint-splattered home and love of the wild with her husband and two children.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My art is inspired by natural places with huge skies and distant horizons.
I capture my emotional response to these precious, mysterious and amazing places by painting them. By immersing myself in nature and the elements, I fill up my heart. Then I pour it out again onto the canvas.
I feel very lucky to live in North Devon. The gorgeous coastline and endless views of Exmoor are constant sources of inspiration.
Recording the extraordinary beauty and emotive qualities of a landscape is important to me. But equally, I also hope that my art inspires others to enjoy and appreciate the land and ocean in the way I do.
Back in the studio, I am influenced by artists such as Kurt Jackson and Turner. I listen to music as I paint, and often use song titles or lyrics to title my paintings.
Oil paints are my preferred medium. Oils are rich, velvety and simply gorgeous. I use palette knives to spread the paint like butter, later building on the undercoat with various techniques to create vibrant and textured impressionistic paintings.