Saxophone Art: Painting by Joanna Jackson

Wilton Elder by Joanna Jackson

For Joanna Jackson, saxophone art is a fascination. She loves painting saxophonists.

“The musician and his saxophone appear as one, the shape of his body angled to match the instrument, the instrument itself reflecting every imaginable color, it’s a visual story of his passion,” according to Jackson.

Her attraction to the subject stems from childhood dreams of being a rock star and her father’s lifetime work in the music industry. Prior to moving to Charleston in 2001, Joanna worked as a make-up artist in Los Angeles on various projects including music videos for the likes of Fatboy Slim. Since 2007 she has slowly switched her focus to portraits, mainly of musicians.

Here is Joanna’s story of how we met:

In March of this year, I had an art show at East Bay Meeting House. There was a band playing, Mr. Goodstache, and about 30 minutes after the band began, this guy came in the door playing his saxophone and literally crashed the band. I was excited right then, jumped out of my seat and said to my friends, “I’m going to paint him”. I eagerly waited for a break in the music, walked right up to him and said, “Hi, I’m Joanna, I’d like to paint you”. That was my first meeting with Wilton.

After an initial get-to-know-you meeting, our collaboration began by shopping for a cool hat prior to the photo shoot at Joanna’s studio. From there she began sketching an outline of the painting on paper before preparing to paint. The finished product you see above is acrylic on wood.

The future is bright for Joanna Jackson. She recently received a grant from the Expansion Arts Fund to create a life size sculpture of a firefighter. Pictures documenting the entire process will soon be posted on her website.

Joanna will be featured and painting live during Piccolo Spoleto at Marion Square, May 22nd – June 7th from 10am – 5pm and will compete in Portrait Slam, an all day portrait competition on May 30th at Eye Level Art. Jackson is also the Local Artist of the Week in this week’s Post and Courier Preview section.

For more information about Joanna Jackson’s work and future art events, visit her home online at www.joannasstudio.com.

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