Hello, I'm Jackson O.

Jackson O’Rourke is a visual artist from Houston​,​ Texas​,​ currently residing in Bellingham​,​ Washington. O’Rourke began painting in 2013 while still in Houston​,​ beginning with oils on small canvases. O’Rourke moved to Bellingham in 2017 and began painting highly texturized pieces on larger canvases (most recently 10x4 ft.​,​) believing that the larger the scale​,​ the less removed the viewer. His paintings are textured ruminations with a wide variety of materials on canvas​,​ chaotic​,​ anxious and intentionally evocative. With his roots in Houston​,​ paintings such as his avian series remind one of a topographical map of a region defined by intense rural​/​urban interaction. The use of different materials creates a 3 rd dimension to his work​,​ literally; a bird’s-eye-view of the chaos that defines the urban sprawl both Houston and the Pacific Northwest. The anxiety depicted in the paintings include a reflection of growth from the chaos of the young adulthood​,​ a sort of coming-of-age story told in the painted manifestation of a fuzz-guitar solo. Currently​,​ O’Rourke is running and producing his work out of the Piano Room studio in downtown Bellingham​,​ bringing a wholly DIY aesthetic to the downtown art scene. He is also the curator for the Racket in Bellingham​,​ Washington.