people into full-fledged collectors .”
“ Many of my collectors were first-time art buyers . They bought their first painting , and now [ wait ] for me to post a new piece [ online ],” Jeremy explained , continuing , “ It ’ s not uncommon to see some of them owning ten or twelve paintings — each ! And they keep collecting . I ’ m barely keeping up ! But I ’ m thankful to the LORD for that for sure .”
“ I didn ’ t think my art could sell there ,” Jeremy said , considering the ways in which God has worked on him and grown him through his art career . “ Now , if I feel compelled by the LORD to do something , regardless of what it looks like , I just say ‘ yes ’ to it …. If you saw what I sell in Tennessee , you wouldn ’ t believe it .” He continued , “ We get stubborn . We think it has got to be a certain way .”
“ And still to this day ,” he said with a smile , “ it is like Christmas morning every time I send him paintings !”
Jeremy ’ s career eventually grew to include the role of the teacher and mentor , and he has had a chance to be a catalyst in other painters ’ careers . Over the years , he has hosted many multiweek workshops , taking groups of artists up into the splendor of the Great Smokies to paint from life . “ I love the outdoors ,” he said . “ Everywhere I look there ’ s a painting .” And in the Black Hills there is no shortage of subject material , as his more recent portfolio reveals ! He plans to teach workshops again , with visions of a barn / studio building for hosting students .
“ I love the early morning or late afternoon sunlight – That ’ s when you get to see all the lavender colors and blues . The most colorful time of the year – and this isn ’ t going to sound right – is the winter ,” and he told of a group of his students who were hesitant at painting outdoors when the wintertime rolled around . “ People who think of winter as bleak don ’ t know how to look at it . They ’ ve been told it is brown or grey , taught that as a kid , and so that ’ s how they see it . We went up in the mountains and there were a bunch of hardwoods . We started painting , and I showed them my palette . It was all purples , and flesh tone , and pink , not any different than the rest of the year . It is really how you look at it .” On the fourth day of his workshops , he likes for his students to be able to paint a live model . “ Even though it is a landscape workshop , I like to show that the palette is the same …. it is just where the color is on the painting . It ’ s a wild thing to see . I try to teach people to quit painting what they think they should be painting , but instead to paint what the eye is actually seeing , even if it doesn ’ t make sense .
Stick it on there , and watch what happens as the painting comes alive . That took me awhile to learn ; I learned that from Richard .”
He pointed to one last painting , hung high on the wall behind me . The same red curls , the same fair skin , but without the nuance or grace of the other portraits of his wife . “ That ’ s the first portrait I ever did , years ago , the first one . You can see how that was ,” he said with a grimace , “ and where it ’ s come to . I didn ’ t know what I was doing there , but I won ’ t get rid of that ,” he added with a hint of gruff emotion , laughing as he said , “ I want to burn so many paintings , but my wife has threatened our relationship over it .” His his simple solution to preserve his marriage and his artistic reputation ? “ So , what I do is buy them up and put them in storage .”
“ The trick to getting emotion in a painting is to paint how the eye truly sees . Have you ever looked at a scene and took a picture , and when you got the picture , it didn ’ t feel anything like how you saw it ? The photo is taking too much detail , more than the eye can really see . If I focus on something , everything else around it becomes less . And if you paint that way …. then it creates emotion .”
“ People will look at that ,” he said , referring to the small work in progress on his easel , an intimate landscape featuring a creek and autumn foliage , “ and they ’ ll be moved by that , but if they passed it on the road , they wouldn ’ t notice it . That ’ s what I long to do , to pull out the unnoticed , and show that it can have its own beauty .”
Although he is best known for his prolific landscape and wildlife paintings , Jeremy ’ s extensive portfolio shows his passion and talent for figurative and still life work as well , with wonderful “ timepiece ” paintings and rustic scenes . “ I just can ’ t paint one subject ,” he said . “ It would start driving me crazy .” He has gotten this pressure a few times during his career , but has intentionally pushed back against being defined by a single subject matter . “ I learned to paint what the LORD puts in me to paint , not what man tells me to paint .”
“ The more I read this ,” Jeremy said , tapping the worn cover of the Bible sitting on the coffee table , “ the more I focus on what we ’ re really supposed to focus on … I focus on Him , on my wife , and my kids … the more I lay it all down , the more the LORD pours out .”
“ I realized all the things that inspire me on a day-to-day basis . And I started painting that .”
Jeremy Doss ’ s work can be found on Facebook and Instagram at “ Jeremy Doss Art ,” and at his website , jeremydossart . com . myblackhillscountry . com Down Country Roads 17