George Jennings began his life at a very early age immersed in the world of fine art. Initially, he learned about art from his grandfather, a very accomplished fine art painter from Washington, D.C. the late John N. Robinson. When he was a child, he would sit George along with his other grandchildren, seven in all, on his porch during the summer months when they were off from school and teach them the fundamentals of art. George also grew up in Washington, D.C. where he had unlimited access to the Smithsonian galleries and would spend most of his weekends there during his childhood. He also entered regional art competitions as a teenager where he competed against his peers at the time. As a teenager, George attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts which was a school that was dedicated to fostering the talents of artistically inclined youth. There he learned more advanced studies of art. After high school, George continued to paint and learn on his own eventually entering art contests as an adult, participating in group exhibits and having solo exhibits of his work. His work has won awards, been featured in print and online publications and he has enjoyed several opportunities to teach as a guest art instructor at both the Gage Academy of Art and the Bellevue Arts Museum. Although George has produced many pieces of artwork over the years across various mediums and has achieved many great accomplishments, he has had anything but a typical artist’s life. He has been in the military, worked for the U.S. Secret Service, and been a truck driver but has never let working traditional 9-5 jobs keep him from what his true goal, to be a full-time professional artist. George continues to work toward achieving that dream because he doesn’t feel that he “chose” to become an artist, he states: “I was somewhat born into it and it was something that I always had a real interest in and an ability to do. I can’t imagine a better life than waking up and being able to create something new each day. When I am working on my art full-time is when I will have achieved that dream!”
Artist Statement
George is often asked which artists inspire him and of course the first artist was his first art instructor, his grandfather, John N. Robinson. Over the years, George began to be exposed to many other artists’ works. Through this discovery he began to be very much inspired by artists such as, Alphonse Mucha, Maxfield Parrish, Patrick Nagel and he also has a strong love for Japanese Anime. For many years, George created art using oil as his primary medium however in 2008, he created his first piece with acrylic paint titled “Seattle” and used acrylic paint until 2016 when he decided to delve into digital art. His most recent work, a digital art piece titled Morning Fog, is his way of expressing his feelings for his beloved city, Seattle, a place he has called home for the last twenty years.
As far as George’s creative process is concerned he describes it this way: “I don't always have "inspirations" for each one my paintings in the way that most people commonly think of inspirations because I typically will either have a simple thought, an idea, or even see a simple image in his mind that I will use to create my vision in a painting. I do, at times, have influences from other great artists in history or an amazing style of art that can be seen in parts of my work. A large part of my process is that when I sit down in my studio to begin working each day, I often listen to the eclectic collection of music on my iPod. Some of my favorite artists are Laura Nyro, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake because great music always helps provide me with the right environment to create. What I always try to do in my work is express the sense of and feeling of peace that I experienced while creating it. My hope is that when viewing any of my work it will cause a person pause and they will connect with the entire piece or even just a portion of the painting because it brings up a positive memory or thought of something that takes them back to a time in their past that could be as far back as childhood or even just yesterday but regardless it brings them joy."