Introducing Jake Crawford

Jake Crawford is an abstract painter based in Lafayette, Louisiana. Jake experiments with the formal properties of painting, with texture and surface playing a major role within his work. In his paintings, he reflects his lived experiences within our society, mirroring his feelings and attitudes toward it through a process-based production of creating.

Jake graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a BFA in Visual Arts, concentrating in Painting. Jake’s work has been showcased at the ULS Academic Summit, representing the painting department of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He has also received several scholarships while completing his BFA, such as the George Rodrigue Endowed Visual Arts Scholarship, the Nancy F. Link Visual Arts Scholarship, and the Dean’s Scholar Award.

Who makes up your art circle?

Within my art circle, I surround myself with many different artists in various fields, such as painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, etc. I enjoy all forms of fine art and the artists behind these works because it’s interesting to me seeing how artists tackle their interests and passions in their own, distinct ways. I would include many of my friends who are not artists within my art circle. I feel as though each perspective is equally important when approaching art; Whether the perspective comes from a creative or not, it does not matter to me. What matters to me within my art circle is having individuals who are passionate about artwork and supportive of the artists creating it.

How do you expand your art circle?

I expand my art circle through collaborating with other local artists in the community. Recently I have been helping install artwork for the Bare Walls program, and this has helped me a lot with meeting artists in the local Lafayette community. Reaching out to local artists on social media has also helped expand my circle of artists, as it is a great way of getting in contact with someone relatively quickly.

What value do you see in having a creative community?

There is tremendous value to having a creative community as an artist. Having a local community of creatives opens possibilities and opportunities for other local artists who may not have felt seen before. I felt this way in the past until I started meeting with local artists who helped and supported me in times when I was very lost. A great example of this would be the team at Basin Arts. Since I started working with them and helping in the Bare Walls program, I have learned a lot about operating as an individual artist and found friends who share a common passion.

How does your artistic approach contribute to your community?

My work critiques the downsides of capitalism within our society, highlighting moments of neglect due to the need for production or profit. For some of my paintings, I use real experiences from my day-to-day life and what I observe. An example would be a painting titled, “Clogged Pipes”, which was inspired by the ventilation system at a restaurant where I work. I had noticed the amount of grease buildup and pipes clogging and wondered why it had not been cleaned, but time is money, and money is of most importance. Within our community, there are many issues that need to be addressed, such as potholes in roads, aging infrastructures not being maintained, cut programs in college, etc. My artistic approach aims to highlight areas we need to improve as a society, prioritizing quality instead of quantity.