Artist Profile: Jeff Kerns

Picture Perfect Portraits

Beautiful images can be captured by camera, but Jeff Kerns, a local Georgian artist, doesnt just capture images with the push of a button. Rather, with the skillful strokes of his paintbrush, Jeff turns any snapshot into a beautiful work of art.

Jeffs father taught him how to draw and paint. I started painting in the first grade. My dad taught me what he learned from his art major, and I loved it, he says. His interest in art took off, as he honed in on his portrait skills by practicing how to draw his favorite musical group, the Jackson 5. From there, Jeff moved on to drawing his friends. Soon, everyone noticed his skill and talent, and many people in his school wanted their portrait drawn, too.

With such recognized ability, Jeff started taking art classes at school. His teacher admired his talent with a paintbrush and decided to enter his work into contests like the National Scholastics Art Awards. He ended up winning several awards in the National Scholastics for his art throughout his high school career. After winning these awards, I became interested in art as a career, Jeff says. While still in high school, Jeff unofficially began his art career after realizing the demand for people wanting portraits of themselves. He began accepting commissions, and Jeffs beautiful artistic skill drew in quite a few customers.

Like his father, Jeff wanted to further his artistic knowledge, so he moved to Georgia in 1977 to attend college at the Art Institute of Atlanta. He studied several different styles of art, including advertising, illustration, graphic design and photography. While still in art school, Jeff was asked by a local restaurant owner to design the restaurants logo. This job would be the first of many design and graphic assignments Jeff would be commissioned to create for other companies in the Atlanta area, but his passion lies in creating portraits. Im inspired and fascinated by people, and its the most awesome feeling selling one of my portraits, Jeff says. He graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 1980.

Jeff now focuses on painting portraits and any commissions he receives. I mostly work from photographs, but I can also work with live models, Jeff says. He spends 6 to 10 hours every day painting in his studio in Roswell. He uses materials like oil paints and chalk pastels to create his gorgeous works of art. The number of paintings I create within a single week and the amount of time it takes to complete one of those paintings varies. Its the same with the cost of the painting, as well. Larger, more detailed works take longer to complete, so they cost more than smaller ones I do, Jeff explains. He has completed hundreds of paintings for people all across the United States, earning wide recognition, but he considers his biggest accomplishment to be that hes been able to earn an income doing what he loves for the last 30 years.

JeffKerns.com