abstract painting by Jaq Chartier - using pigments, dyes, inks - in blues and purples and greens

Jaq Chartier: Science Artist

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When I first spied Jaq Chartier’s paintings in a book, I fell down dead in a heap.

It was the art equivalent of love at first sight, and I couldn’t whip the book aside fast enough to run to Google for more. Firstly, I love that I discovered her work in a real live old fashioned book. Secondly of all, look:

Oh my god. I swoon.

It makes me laugh to think about how much I love her work, and I know that so many people probably look at it and wonder just why in the bloody hell you could be so taken with a bunch of color blobs.

Here’s what I enjoy: the blissful indulgence in color, the organized stripes wildly bleeding out, the encaustic vibe, the obsessive tracking of each mini color experiment – sometimes right on the painting.

There is so much going on with these paintings. Chartier approaches her work as a scientist, with each piece being a large testing ground for colors and how they are affected by materials and sunlight.

You can see notes written next to the marks on her surfaces, and many of them evolve through time, fading, and sometimes eventually disappearing from prolonged sun exposure.

Read the first paragraph of her artist’s statement:

I love collecting intriguing sciency images from chromatography and DNA gel electrophoresis, as well as things seen under the microscope and under the sea. Science keeps me inspired by the wondrous. And like a scientist I call my paintings tests because I’m following real questions and running real experiments. I set the stage for materials to interact and reveal hidden chemistries, and the final paintings are the results. 

This sort of experimentation and unabashed following-of-curiosity is what I think makes (and keeps) art fun for the artist, and in turn makes it magical for the viewer.

Before I let you go absorb more of Jaq Chartier’s work, I was lucky enough that she answered my artist’s questionnaire, and shared a pic of her studio!

Jaq Chartier Artist Interview

Describe your typical day.

I work pretty much every day, but in a relaxed “island time” sort of way where things just take as long as they take. I love slow mornings around the house doing this and that, then head to the studio from about noon-ish till 8pm-ish. Evenings I spend back at home with my husband – who cooks!

Name your 1 to 3 favorite art-making tools.

eye droppers 3M fine line tape tack cloths

What do you hate about being an artist?

I don’t *hate* anything about being an artist. But I don’t love how precarious making a living can be. On the other hand, solving that problem has driven me to take on great projects that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

What are you influenced by? People, places, or things.

Images from science, color, music, what other artists are doing.

Unrelated to art, but very important: Do you have any pets? What is your favorite beverage? What is your favorite article of clothing?

I have an adorable cocker spaniel named Otto. My older cocker Teddy just died a month ago and I’m heart broken. Fav beverage is water. Second fav tequila. My Fav article of clothing is a 3/4 sleeve cotton tee that I’ve had for years. I kept it even after my pup chewed off part of the neckline, which only made me love it more.

Last question. Finish the sentence: Art Makes People…

connect

Studio Shot!

Jaq Chartier studio photo

More! See more of Jaq Chartier’s work and learn about her:

Jaq Chartier Website | Instagram

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