Artist Biography: 

Jeff Love
Born in 1961 into a farming family from Ohio, Jeff spent his early years with a pasture of sheep, acres of corn and a red prairie barn as his playgrounds. As Jeff watched his grandfather shepherd a flock of sheep or harvest a field of corn, a love for nature grew. Art was always of interest to Jeff and the two seemed to go together well. A move to Colorado during his early teen years brought about a new love to build his growing interest in art on – The Rocky Mountains. Excelling in art in school, a high school teacher recognized that Jeff needed to go farther and encouraged him to take college courses while in high school at an art school in Colorado Springs where he explored various mediums and styles. After high school, Jeff studied art in college in Kansas City, Kansas, furthering his skills which led to an award in watercolor and representation in a gallery show. After college, Jeff felt a call on his life to a career in ministry and has spent many fulfilling years helping others discover their unique giftedness and purpose in life. Ministry has taken Jeff to Colorado, Nebraska, West Texas, and Arizona, where he now lives. During these years, Jeff focused his continuing education in ministerial studies, painting mostly for enjoyment and as an outlet. Finally in 2007, Jeff recognized that an important part of his own life-purpose was creating and painting. Jeff is a firm believer and has taught countless many that it is never too late to become the best that God intends you to be. Actively pursuing painting with the inspiration and encouragement of instruction from some of his favorite artists, Jeff’s medium of choice is oil in which he has dedicated himself to exploring the Arizona landscape both en plein air and in the studio. Jeff loves to teach, paint and study art, wander the wilderness looking for just the right light, and his paintings are often inspired from some remote mountain location in the high desert of Southern Arizona.

Studied: 

Mid-America Nazarene University, Fine Arts 1979-82
Doctorate of Science in Ministry – Completed 2006
Gabor Svagrik – Studio Painting 2008
Phil Starke – Plein Air Painting 2009
Jim Wilcox – Studio Painting 2010
Matt Smith – Plein Air Painting 2011
Matt Smith – Studio Painting 2011
Skip Whitcomb – Plein Air Painting March 2012
Scott Christensen – June 2012

Jim Wilcox – Plein Air Painting July 2012
*Feb 2011- Jeff was awarded an art scholarship based on merit from The Friends of Western Art.
*Sept 2011 – Jeff was awarded an art scholarship based on merit from the Scottsdale Artist’s School.

*Jan 2012 – Jeff was awarded a Shirl Smithson Scholarship for 2012 through the Oil Painters of America.

Publications:

April 2012 – Jeff’s painting “Fearless” appeared in the April issue of Southwest Art Magazine representing the Arizona Plein Air Painters.

July 2012 – Western Art Collector Magazine – Artist Focus Article

August 2013 – Southwest Art Magazine – Eyes on the Skies  – Meet 12 artists who capture the elusive and changing skies

October 2013 – Southwest Art Magazine – Arizona Artists Feature

December 2013 – Book by Jeff Love – Life Palette – Published Through Write Works

Exhibition Record:

2014 Arizona Plein Air Painters Spring Members Show, Prescott, AZ

2013 Arizona Plein Air Painters Fall Members Show, Scottsdale, AZ

2013 Arizona Plein Air Painters Annual Members Show, Sedona, AZ – SEG Gallery

2012 PaintAmerica Top 100

2012 PaintAmerica Mini Top 50
2012 Arizona Plein Air Painters Annual Members Show, Sedona, AZ – SEG Gallery

2012 “Empire 100” Western Show and Sale
2011 Paint the Parks Top 100
2011 Tucson International Airport TPAPS – Lower Link Gallery
2011 Arizona Plein Air Painters Annual Members Show, Sedona, AZ – SEG Gallery
2011 “Out in the Open” – The Art of Plein Air – Tohono Chul Park Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2011 “Empire 100” Western Art Show and Sale
2011 “Painters of the American West Showcase” – Tucson Plein Air Painters Society
2010 “Paint the Aspens” – Arizona Plein Air Painters
2010 “Fresh Visions” – Tucson Plein Air Painters Society – Third Place
2010 “Fresh Paint” – The University of Arizona Museum of Art
2009 Oro Valley Arts Show