Painting

 

Statement

Born and raised in eastern Montana, Jerry Cornelia is primarily a self-taught artist. for 10 years in the mid-1980's to mid-1990's, he lived and worked in New York...painting mannequins...more than 17,000 of them. There he developed some very good work habits doing piece work. It was also how he learned about color. Cornelia exclaims,"You'd be amazed at how many different colors it takes to get the right red for a certain lip color!" Whether it be on some of the tighter, almost rompe l'oeil styled works or the looser, evident brush stroke pieces, his affection for and skills with mixing colors are obvious and unique.

Durning his New York years, Cornelia also did a job of design work wich included the Christmas window displays for Saks Fifth Avenue, and functional works from birdhouses to clocks, chairs, and tables. At the same time, he began sculpting classical forms and creating a diverse portfolio of paintings, including surrealistic neo-expressionistic, and neo-primitive styles.