Laura Jewell Artwork

Laura Jewell Biography

Laura Jewell’s work has been described as “Serene and enchanting like a quiet night, when you can hear the nature grow.” This seems fitting when you hear how Jewell describes her upbringing in the small rural town of Holton, Kansas. Born in the 1980’s she spent most of her time exploring the family’s eighty acres of farmland with small creek and pond. She explains “There was plenty of time to appreciate the minutia of the life and land surrounding me.” During this time having always been encouraged in her art interests, Jewell recounts the art influences that started her on this artistic path. “My earliest memories of art were the watercolor paintings hanging in my Grandparent’s home one of which was painted by my great-grandmother and several others by my Grandfather. I can also remember asking my grandfather to draw for me; I’d name something and he would start sketching. I believe this is when I first became interested in what I just considered ‘drawing’ at the time, which grew into a yearning to study as many techniques and processes in high school and college as possible and since then has developed into a passion for art.” In 2007 Laura Jewell moved from Kansas to South Dakota where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of South Dakota. Jewell also credits a few very inspirational and encouraging professors from this time as having affected her love of art and the creative process.

The subject matter that artist Laura Jewell is most drawn to is what she considers abstract landscape. Sometimes the work is inspired by grand scale vistas, and in others a very minute aspect of the landscape may be what prompts her to create the artwork. “Travel inspires me, seeing landscapes that are new to me. These places tend to find their way into my paintings in groups or series influenced by the location, but the familiar landscapes of the Midwest are like old friends to me and generally reappear often when you look at my entire body of work.” Jewell has developed a style that is loose and fluid with movement that imbibes a calm and tranquil quality. The style, as well as the sensed familiarity of these places that Jewell speaks of is what draws collectors to her work. Amy Jarding of JAM Art & Supplies once interviewed Jewell and said the following. “Laura Jewell recognizes the importance of knowing your home, and understanding your roots. Laura is the kind of person that makes you want to close your eyes and smile. She has a captivating, almost magical quality to her that is effortlessly translated into her artwork.”

Still having a relatively young art career which she consciously began to pursue while finishing her Art education in 2012, Jewell has focused on producing quality work and has collectors across the Midwest, Plains and Western regions of the country and also in Australia and Canada. In the last couple years Jewell has participated in a select few of the country’s top art festivals. The very first show she was accepted to was the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver, Colorado as an “Emerging Artist” in 2015. She has also been fortunate to garner the support of her state’s Arts Council when she received the “Artist Career Development” grant for 2016, then again in 2018 for a “Project Grant” for the state parks series of paintings which was its own solo exhibition at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls the Spring of 2019.

Laura Jewell currently lives in Sioux Falls, SD where she is able to enjoy time in her studio each day. Often gathering inspiration, references and sketched ideas in the summer and then settling down and taking advantage of the long South Dakota winters to reflect and express her thoughts through art.

Past Exhibitions:

2020 Great Places Series. Solo Exhibition. Northern State University, Aberdeen, SD
2019 This Land. Solo Exhibition. Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
2017 Art Fair Jackson Hole, Jackson, WY
2017 Sioux City Art Center's ArtSplash, Sioux City, IA
2017 CherryArts Festival at Stanley, Denver, CO
2017 Arts Night 2017: REPRESENT, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
2017 Solo Exhibition, Lamont Gallery, Dacotah Prairie Museum, Aberdeen, SD
2016 Saint James Court Art Fair, Louisville, KY
2016 Cherry Arts Festival at Stanley, Denver, CO
2016 Columbus Arts Festival, Columbus, OH
2016 Edina Art Fair, Edina, MN
2016 Oklahoma City 2016 Festival of the Arts, Oklahoma City, OK
2016 Solo Exhibition in Gallery 110, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD
2016 In the Making: 2016 Arts Night Juried Exhibition, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
2016 Lucky Number, Ipso Gallery, Sioux Falls, SD
2016 6th Biennial Governor's Show, Dacotah Prairie Museum, Aberdeen, SD
2015 6th Biennial Governor's Show, John A. Day Gallery, USD campus, Vermillion, SD
2015 6th Biennial Governor's Show, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
2015 Art on the Rockies, Edwards, CO
2015 Cherry Creek Art Festival, Emerging Artist, Denver, CO
2015 6th Biennial Governor's Show, Dahl Arts Center, Rapid City, SD
2015 Sine Qua Non: Community, Artists, Pavilion, Washington Pailion, Sioux Falls, SD
2015 Built Environments: Landscapes Reinvented, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
2014 Solo Exhibition, Northern State University, Aberdeen, SD
2014-15 6th Biennial Governor's Show, South Dakota Art Museum, Brookings, SD
2014 Washington Pavilion's 2nd Juried Show, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
2014 Two Artist Show, Rug & Relic, Sioux Falls, SD
2013 Studio 301 Exhibition, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
2012 BFA Thesis Exhibition, University of South Dakota
2012 Thirty Day Soire, Rug & Relic, Sioux Falls, SD
2012 Paint a Picture, Ipso Gallery, Sioux Falls, SD
2012 Washington Pavilion's 1st Juried Show, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD
2011 Collaborations, University of South Dakota I D Weeks Library, Vermillion, SD
2010 Emerging Artist Showcase, Rug & Relic, Sioux Falls, SD
2010 Ips-O-Mat, Ipso Gallery, Sioux Falls, SD

Awards:

2018 Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, South Dakota
2016 Artist Career Development Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, South Dakota
2015 People's Choice Award, Sine Qua Non, Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls, SD