James Jensen
ames Jensen was raised in Fort Collins, Colorado, Jensen's creativity originally expressed itself in quite a different vein, the piano. Jensen entered the University of Colorado with specific intent of becoming a concert pianist, always knowing his interests were in both music and art. While technically brilliant, Jensen's true dream of composing music eluded him. When he realized his aptitude for painting and drawing, he began to spend increasing amounts of time in the studio instead of at the keyboard. When viewing Jensen's still life pastels, the influence of the Old World masters is unmistakable. But there is an individuality in his work, a vibrancy that comes from the artist himself. Now residing in California, Jensen spends a month each year in Italy immersing himself not only in the art, but also the food, the music and the Italian way of life. He is an artist who likes to experience life.
"A work that falls under the classification of mixed media is because it contains a variety of materials and paint mediums. Understandably there would be question as to whether all the materials will bond and remain intact, lightfast, and not degrade. The first part of this topic starts with the painting, and under painting, even before the finishes are applied. A painting in my studio starts on a classic gesso surface which provides the proper foundation for almost all medium. Paint on it's own is quite a powerful glue and is a great medium for collage work, the paint I use for contemporary works is largely acrylic. The nature of this particular acrylic is from the high end of paint sources. The tests for Liquitex heavy body paint are well documented for lightfastness and resistance to cracking. The gold leaf when used speaks for itself as a pure material and it is affixed into the painting with a material called sizing (another glue) which interacts very well with the acrylic paint.
The next phase of the painting is the lacquer varnish that visually blankets the whole painting and brings all the elements to their original wet, deep and saturated color. The nature of this product is quite modern and is not a lacquer or a varnish - but has the look of many coats of french varnish. This particular coating is from the resin family, and although early resins, as well as lucites and acrylics tended to yellow with age, this is no longer the case with most of the modern versions. There is a standard measurement that comes from the test labs for paints as well as finishes that determine their probability of yellowing. The manufacturer of my resin finishes have quoted that 1 part in 100 over 100 years would be the possibility of yellowing...or none at all. It's a very small possibility compared to the earlier history of products.
This advancement in paints and finishes is due to good science and research and now artists rely on the archival quality of their materials.
"A work that falls under the classification of mixed media is because it contains a variety of materials and paint mediums. Understandably there would be question as to whether all the materials will bond and remain intact, lightfast, and not degrade. The first part of this topic starts with the painting, and under painting, even before the finishes are applied. A painting in my studio starts on a classic gesso surface which provides the proper foundation for almost all medium. Paint on it's own is quite a powerful glue and is a great medium for collage work, the paint I use for contemporary works is largely acrylic. The nature of this particular acrylic is from the high end of paint sources. The tests for Liquitex heavy body paint are well documented for lightfastness and resistance to cracking. The gold leaf when used speaks for itself as a pure material and it is affixed into the painting with a material called sizing (another glue) which interacts very well with the acrylic paint.
The next phase of the painting is the lacquer varnish that visually blankets the whole painting and brings all the elements to their original wet, deep and saturated color. The nature of this product is quite modern and is not a lacquer or a varnish - but has the look of many coats of french varnish. This particular coating is from the resin family, and although early resins, as well as lucites and acrylics tended to yellow with age, this is no longer the case with most of the modern versions. There is a standard measurement that comes from the test labs for paints as well as finishes that determine their probability of yellowing. The manufacturer of my resin finishes have quoted that 1 part in 100 over 100 years would be the possibility of yellowing...or none at all. It's a very small possibility compared to the earlier history of products.
This advancement in paints and finishes is due to good science and research and now artists rely on the archival quality of their materials.
