Award-winning artist Scott Jacobs broke ground as the first licensed artist for Harley-Davidson. Elevating photorealism to new heights, Jacobs does more than replicate photographs—he uses them as a basis to create works that transcend their subjects. Jacobs’ super-photorealism captures figures in incredible detail by portraying transparent and reflective surfaces like glass and chrome.
Not surprisingly, Jacobs can spend anywhere from 150 to 700 hours to complete one of his remarkably detailed paintings. He begins with a reference photo of his subject, focusing on angles and detail. After creating a basic line drawing on canvas, he begins to paint, using brushes with tiny pencil-point tips. Layers of paint and varnish lend his paintings the clarity and luster of a high-resolution photograph.
In addition to his highly regarded motorcycle, Jacobs also paints incredibly realistic still lifes of flora, wine bottles, and spirits. All of these subjects were on display at Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center as part of an exhibit titled Master of Detail: The Photorealism of Scott Jacobs. The exhibit was the highlight of the MACC’s Sixth Annual Moonlight and Magnolias gala fundraiser.
Robin Willis is the MACC’s Healing Arts Coordinator. She also works as the Exhibition and Events Manager and Director of Outreach. Robin has a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Clemson University with a minor in Entrepreneurship. She is a multi-discipline artist with emphasis in writing, mixed media abstract painting, alternative process photography, collage, and book arts and binding. In addition to her art practices, she holds several healing modalities certificates, such as extensive kundalini yoga teacher training and education, Reiki master, systemic family constellation facilitator, and depth psychology-based therapy trainings. As an avid learner, she explores and encourages others in their exploration in art, psyche, and our relationship to the micro and macro worlds within and around us. Influenced by John Muir’s quote, When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe, she fuses art, healing, and organization throughout her work and personal life as a creative-scientist minded person.
Kaylin Warden serves as the MACC’s Creative Design and Operations Manager. In this post, she oversees the organization’s graphic design work for exhibitions, events and special projects. She also coordinates the MACC’s arts outreach activities and assists with bookkeeping, among other duties. Kaylin, above all, is passionate about the arts. It comes as no surprise, then, that she is now pursuing a master’s degree in art history. When she’s not at the MACC, you can find her reading her favorite books (especially ones dealing with maritime mysteries), cooking, gardening, playing with her cat and two dogs, and cheering for the Nashville Predators.