About | Jordan K Walker Fine Art & Illustration

Email: jkwalkerart@gmail.com

Jordan K Walker is an award winning landscape painter, illustrator, and teacher based in Eugene, Oregon. His work explores the complex and varied landscapes of the American West.

With painting gear in hand, Jordan hikes through the wild spaces of western North America and creates studies to better understand his surroundings. Intense examples of light and atmosphere, as well as a sense of the geological timescale of his favorite subjects are important elements in his work. He is continually drawn to the timeless drama of stormy skies, churning Pacific tides, steep alpine slopes, and ancient forests. Increasingly, he has found inspiration in the arid steppe of the Great Basin region, where incredible rock spires emerge from blankets of sage and juniper.

In the studio, Jordan uses his studies and photographic reference gathered in the wild to compose immersive paintings. He strives to communicate the power and beauty of his subjects through the use of dynamic compositions, expressive brushstrokes, and unexpected color contrasts.

Jordan grew up in the ‘Ocean State” of Rhode Island, where he learned to appreciate the Atlantic coastline, eastern woodlands, and the many creatures that inhabited these ecosystems. Though time spent outdoors in nature was never as frequent as he would have liked, it was something he always treasured as a child. This fostered a lifelong interest in natural history, and engendered in him a desire to explore more far flung environments. Science fiction and fantasy novels provided a sense of escape, and he immersed himself the fantastic worlds of his favorite authors as well as many of his own creation. To express his love for nature and his own imaginative creations, Jordan spent as much time as possible drawing. He filled dozens of sketchbooks throughout high school, and was bolstered by the encouragement of his parents and the enthusiasm of his peers. A family trip to Alaska during this time served as an introduction to the wonders of the western end of the continent, and left him eager to see more. By the end of this period he was certain of two things; he would go on to become a professional artist, and he would move west to explore the Pacific coast and the mountainous regions of North America.

Jordan graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration in 2016. During his time at RISD he learned a number of valuable lessons in conceptual thinking and composition design, and became enamored with oil paint as a medium. It was in a studio classroom that he met his life partner; fellow illustrator Emily Poole. Together they moved to Oregon shortly after graduation in search of vast wilderness and pristine ecosystems to explore.

He spent his first few years out of college fostering a career as a professional illustrator, creating rich imaginative scenes featuring strange creatures for a variety of publications.

Illustration Clients include: Monte Cook Games, Ironzog Games, Ramblebine Brewing, 3DTotal Publishing, Graphite Magazine, and 3DTotal.com. His work is also featured in Spectrum 25.

Though these subjects are still important to him, he was soon blown away by the sense of scale and history of the western landscape. Feeling a strong need to communicate his experiences and interpretations of the places he was seeing, he shifted his focus to spend more time painting the incredible tangible environments he has come to love.

Jordan’s work has been shown in galleries and museums across the United States, including the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Steamboat Art Museum, CFD Old West Museum, Maryhill Museum of Art, and the Bowers Museum. Many of his paintings are held in private collections around the globe.

Gallery Representation:

Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ
Cassens Fine Art, Hamilton, MT
Mindpower Gallery, Reedsport, OR

Solo Exhibitions:

2023 Deep Time, Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery, Tucson, AZ

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2023 A Virtual Addition to the Gold Medal Exhibition, California Art Club, Online Exhibition
2023 California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition, Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA
2023 Plein Air Invitational Show, Salem on the Edge Gallery, Salem, OR
2023 Guest Artist Feature, Salem on the Edge Gallery, Salem, OR
2023 Pacific Northwest Plein Air Exhibition, Maryhill Museum of Art, Goldendale, WA
2023 Excellence in Traditional Fine Art; Winter Wonderland, California Art Club, Online Exhibition
2022 Studies and Sketches Invitational, Western Gallery, Online Exhibition
2022 Miniature Show, Salem on the Edge Gallery, Salem, OR
2022 Art For All Seasons; Member Show, Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene, OR
2022 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition, Southwest Gallery, Dallas, TX
2022 Plein Air Invitational Show, Salem on the Edge Gallery, Salem, OR
2022 Pacific Northwest Plein Air Exhibition, Maryhill Museum of Art, Goldendale, WA
2022 Above the Clouds; Art of the Alpine, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, WY
2022 California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition, Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA
2022 Oil Painters of America National Exhibition, Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, CO
2022 Western Spirit Juried Art Show & Sale, CFD Old West Museum, Cheyenne, WY
2022 Art in Bloom, Art Focus Fine Art, Hamilton, MT
2021 Annual Miniature Show, Art Focus Fine Art, Hamilton, MT
2021 Art For All Seasons; Annual Member Show, Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene, OR
2021 The World Around Us; Plein Air Painters of Lane County, Emerald Art Center, Eugene, OR
2021 Every Day Inspiration: A Still life Invitational, Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene, OR
2020 Urban Wildlife: Learning to Co+Exist, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson, WY
2020 The Oregon Coast, Eugene Airport (curated by Maude Kerns Art Center), Eugene OR
2019 Art for All Seasons; Annual Member Show, Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene, OR
2019 Emerald Spring Exhibition, Emerald Art Center, Eugene, OR
2018 Eugene Biennial, Karin Clarke Gallery, Eugene, OR
2018 Urban Wildlife: Learning to Co-Exist, RISD ISB Gallery, Art Prov Gallery, Providence, RI
2017 Group Show, Oregon Art Supply Gallery, Eugene, OR
2016 Cabinet of Curiosities, RISD ISB Gallery, Providence, RI
2015 Vinum, Art and Archaeology Exhibition, Murlo, Vescovado di Murlo, Tuscany, Italy
2013 Exhibition of Enlightened Darkness, Tangent Gallery, Detroit, MI
2012 Art.Write.Now National Exhibition, Parsons: The New School for Design, New York, NY
2011 Art.Write.Now National Exhibition, World Financial Center Gallery, New York, NY

Awards and Recognition:

2023 National Scenic Area Award, Pacific Northwest Plein Air, Maryhill Museum of Art
2023 Out of State Artist Member of the California Art Club
2023 Associate member of the Oil Painters of America
2022 Out of State Artist Member of the California Art Club
2022 Associate member of the Oil Painters of America
2022 Spotlight Feature for Volcanic Krummholz, Western Art Collector Magazine
2022 Spotlight feature in the 21 Under 31 article, Southwest Art Magazine
2021 Member of the Jury, Submergence, Going Below the Surface with Orca and Salmon,

Jack Straw Gallery

2019 Member of the Jury, 20th Annual Mayor’s Teen Art Show, Maude Kerns Gallery
2018 Juror’s Choice Award, Urban Wildlife: Learning to Co-Exist, Creature Conserve
2013 Artist Guest of Honor, Exhibition of Enlightened Darkness, Tangent Gallery
2012 National Gold Medal and American Visions Awards, Scholastic art and Writing Awards
2011 National Gold Medal and American Visions Awards, Scholastic art and Writing Awards

Collections:

The Poggio Civitate Archaeological Project - Vescovado Di Murlo, Tuscany, Italy
Cranston Public Library - Cranston, RI
Paintings are also held in private collections in the United States, Canada, Turkey, Ireland, and Austria.