Worcester’s Hillarie Jason Combines Oil Painting and Photography

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Jeffrey Starr, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Worcester's Hillarie Jason expertly expresses herself in multiple artistic mediums, from oil painting to digital photography, because, ultimately, she has to.

"I get to keep my sanity," she says laughing, speaking about why she's become an artist.

"Seriously. I mean, I have to do this. Even when I wasn't a full time artist I always had to create on my down time. I found that the only way I could relax was to get this stuff out of my head and into the physical world. The images and ideas don't stop, they just pile up inside my head, so the more I can get out, the less I have to think about."

As for why she chooses to work in these specific mediums to accomplish her goals, well, she doesn't really know.

"For some reason these are the two mediums that I obsess over and am drawn to. I can express what I need to through them but each in a very different way. My photography is usually about how I see the physical world around me; everything outside of my mind and my paintings are typically about the images and ideas in my mind," she remarks.

For people like her, it is all about instinct, knowing naturally what would make a good subject to be used in a piece of art, and moreover, for her, knowing right away what medium could be best used to interpret that specific subject.

"I just suddenly find myself painting or out with my camera shooting," she says.

And, in addition to her own art, she also enjoys experiencing the creativity of others, specifically that which is expressed in music. With her photography, she is able to combine these two great loves.

"Concert and music photography is something I am addicted to, completely. It ties together my love for music and my drive to capture images with a camera. I am always trying to convey my experience of "being there" with my concert photographs," she remarks.

Her photographs often capture in expert form the intensity and energy only heavy metal and hard work shows can provide; and she even produces album cover art from time to time.

Her paintings take on different subjects, and often stem from a specific memory, dream or emotion. Her completed paintings range from the colorfully whimsical to the almost morbid yet electrifyingly beautiful. But she reminds us that the act of painting itself adds a certain something for the artist that a photograph can never really accomplish. Sure, there is a process to taking and developing a photograph, but there is just something extra about placing that brush on the canvas, knowing the result is spawned from one's own pure imagination, unaffected by the outside world.

"The paintings take quite a fair bit of time to complete, partly due to the oil paint drying time and partly due to my process. There is just something wonderful about the physical act of putting paint on a canvas that I don't get from anything else." She goes on.

"The way the paint reacts, mixes, smells... all of it. For me the painting is not just the final image, it's also the act of painting it, the journey of the painting."

And, painting is indeed a journey, just like life itself, and like how when starting a painting one does not know how exactly it will look in the end, life often equally unpredictable. Jason speaks of her possible futures.

"The future? Well, that's the question, isn't it? If we aren't looking forward we are busy looking back. Wow, I don't know, but I am enjoying the journey and I'd just like to keep going. I've got a ton of ideas and I just need to get them out," the artist states.

For more information on Hillarie Jason and to view her work please visit her website or find her on Facebook.