Landscape paintings have shaped Jesse Powell’s life from the start. The California-based artist grew up hearing stories of his grandfather, a Pasadena painter inspired by the California Impressionists, and later discovered his own voice through travel, plein air painting, and encounters with Russian Impressionists that changed the course of his career.
Painting Personal Stories
By Rose Fredrick
One of the first things the California-based landscape painter Jesse Powell (b. 1977) will tell you is that he is fortunate. And it is with gratitude that he acknowledges those who lit candles all along his path to becoming an artist, starting with his father, who had followed his own father into the business. His grandfather was a portrait and landscape painter in Pasadena.
Though his grandfather died before Powell was born, he says the elder painter passed down a deep respect for the California Impressionists and artists of the Pasadena area. “There was a lot of talk about painting in the studio, but I learned that my grandfather and I had very similar aesthetics. His painting is reminiscent of Elmer Wachtel [1964–1929], Edgar Payne [1883–1947], and other artists I admired when I first got into art in my early 20s. When I look at my grandfather’s work, I see who he was looking at then; it’s funny they are the same people I’m drawn to two generations later.”
But it wasn’t just studio talk about painting that propelled Powell forward; he was also exposed to the business side of art. “Having the encouragement of family was huge,” he declares. “They opened a lot of doors.”
Some of those doors Powell found on his own. He recalls a chance encounter while strolling the aisles of the New York Art Expo. “My dad was represented by a large publishing company that managed his career and was showing his work there,” Powell says. “I was looking around at hundreds and hundreds of different artists, and I came across a booth of Russian Impressionists. I absolutely fell in love with their work. I got to know some of those guys and ended up spending a few months in the Republic of Georgia painting with them.”
At the time, Powell was 22 years old and had recently graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. He was living in Laguna Beach, California, a hub for plein air painting, but he hadn’t gotten into the scene — yet. “I went all the way to Georgia to discover plein air painting,” he says with a laugh.
Part of a cultural exchange program set up through the American artist Jonathan Wurdeman (b. 1975), Powell joined a group of seven Americans. They visited Moscow but mainly stayed in the Georgian town of Sighnaghi. Despite the poverty there, Powell recalls the experience as artistically and culturally rich, especially because it pushed him out of his element.
See More Landscape Paintings:
- Continue reading in Fine Art Connoisseur, January/February 2025
- Connect with Jesse Powell at www.jessepowellfineart.com.
- View more artist and collector profiles here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.
