Work samples
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HillsideHillside, oil on linen - Art for me is an individual’s expression of their experience of living on earth. I was attracted to art as a way of expressing the magical nature and the beauty of being alive. We are surrounded by the beauty of nature. Landscape painting is a way to explore and communicate this beauty. -
Interior at Chase StreetInterior at Chase Street, Oil on linen - Still lives have always fascinated me because they are in essence pure painting and perceiving. When you look at objects on a table, you are watching a complex interplay of light, form, color, and perception. There is the color of light or atmosphere which is determined by the colors in the surrounding environment and which is continually changing by the time of day and as the sun moves behind and out from clouds. The color of the atmosphere interacts with the local color of each object. The color of each object changes as its form goes from light to shadow. As you focus on an object, the color changes. When you view several objects on a table, your eye darts from object to object. Each refocusing changes the colors of what you are seeing. Even more, a chemical reaction in your retina causes colors to change the longer you stare at them. All these interactions mean a still life is never “still”. -
Triple Self- PortraitTriple Self-Portrait, Oil on linen, I have always embraced the idea that painting can have a narrative function.Here is an example from my own work. This triple self portrait was the result of seeing in a book Caravaggio’s painting on the sacrifice of Issac. I was twelve, Issac’s age, when I first heard this story. I wondered what kind of God would traumatize a child just as a test of his father’s faith. I felt there must be a deeper meaning. See Project : Allegorical and Narrative for more. -
Helping HandsHelping Hands, Sculpted in wet clay, cast in bronze - The title of this piece is Helping Hands. There have been times in life where I have faced crisis both internal (personal) and external (outside forces). Somehow in those instances I have always gotten the support I needed to get through them. It is as if invisible hands come out of nowhere to help me. Are they the hands of God, of fate, of my ancestors, or guardian angels that have reached out to give me the support I needed? I do not know, but I want to acknowledge them and express my gratitude to them.
About Jimmy
Jimmy Rouse is a well-known Baltimore artist. He attended Gilman School, followed by Yale University, graduating in 1967 with a B.A. in political science.
It was then he began to pursue his true love: art. Over the years, he has had many jobs that support his art habit. From 1974 to 1981 he worked at Martick’s Restaurant Francais. From 1981 to 1998 he owned and operated Louie’s Bookstore Café. Louie’s was a very… more
Landscapes
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Fells Point 1970'sFells Point 1970’s, Oil on masonite - Beauty in landscape exists in the city as well as the countryside. In the 1970’s I lived on Thames Street in Fells point. This was the view out of my studio window. Now it is the Oyster House. -
CylburnCylburn, Oil on masonite - When I lived in Mount Vernon in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s I decided I wanted to do country landscapes. For two summers I went to Cylburn Park and painted everyday teaching myself how to paint landscapes. -
John Street FountainJohn Street Fountain, Oil on linen - In the 1980’s I lived in Bolton Hill on John Street where I raised my two boys while owning and running Louie’s Bookstore Cafe. This was the park in front of my house. -
Poison IvyPoison Ivy, Oil on Linen - In the 1990’s I met Ava who owned horses and we ended up buying a farm in Baltimore County. This was done on that farm. The red comes from the poison ivy vines in the fall. -
Ahmic LakeAhmic Lake, Oil on linen - Since I was a child my family had a place I have gone to many summers on a lake 4 hours north or Toronto. This is that lake. -
Day LiliesDay Lilies, Oil on Linen - Ava creates beautiful gardens around our house. These are day lilies painted from our porch. -
The Nature of NatureThe Nature of Nature, Oil on linen - As I was painting more of Ava’s gardens my 6 year old step-granddaughter suggested I needed to add butterflies and sketched in the outlines of two. Nature creates such beauty as flowers and butterflies. A hummingbird came by to taste the red bee balm. Then my cat came over and sat eyeing the hummingbird. Perfect, I thought, nature creates both beauty and predators. -
Druid Hill ParkDruid Hill Park, Oil on linen - The forest in Druid Hill Park next to my studio is one of the last old growth forests in Maryland. Its combination of oak, tulip poplar, beech and hickory and other trees is spectacular. -
Chase and CalvertChase and Calvert, Oil on masonite - This is a view from my windows looking towards the intersection of Chase Street and Calvert Street where I lived in the 1970’s. -
On the FarmOn the Farm, Oil on linen - Another view on my farm in Baltimore County. There is beauty everywhere.
Still Lives
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Chase Street InteriorChase Street Interior , Oil on linen - Another interior from my days on Chase Street. We are surrounded by beauty, even in the corner of a room. -
Chase Street Still LifeChase Street Still Life, Oil on linen - Another still life from Chase Street. -
Christmas Cactus Still LifeChristmas Cactus Still Life, Oil on linen - An early still life including a christmas cactus, fruit, a cup and folded cloth, which always attracted me. -
Still LifeStill Life, Oil on linen - The pink background was from the rough coat of plaster when the finish coat had been knocked off. -
Night Time Still LifeNight Time Still Life, Oil on masonite - Objects are beautiful even in the dark. -
Still LifeStill Life, Oil on masonite - And Light. -
Still LifeStill Life , Oil on linen - Again from Chase Street days. I made up the pink background. -
Still LifeStill Life, Oil on masonite - Light pulsates and is always changing. -
Texas Still LifeTexas Still Life, Oil on linen - I lived in Texas and the landscape into El Paso reminded me of landscapes I had seen in Italian early Renaissance painting. -
Still LifeStill Life, Oil on linen - Painted in a dark hallway, the pulsating atmosphere seems to unite fruit, ceramics, glass and onions.
Figures and Portraits
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SanjayPortrait, Oil on linen - Painting people is infinitely fascinating and challenging. This one of Sanjay Mishra, at the time a Peabody guitar student from India. This was painted in one sitting, a couple of hours. Sometimes things fall into place. -
AmaryAmary , Oil on masonite - A MICA model and musician. -
NagliNagli , Oil on linen - A Turkish native studying medicine at Johns Hopkins University and working at Louie's as a waitress. -
GwenythGwenyth, Oil on linen - A Peabody student cello player. -
PatriciaPatricia, Oil on masonite - A Colombian native, who also worked at Louie's as a waitress and manager. -
RiverslieRiverslie, Oil on masonite - My step-granddaughter, Riverslie, age 3 with beautiful curly red hair. -
FreyjaFreyja, Oil on masonite - My other step-granddaughter around late 2 or early 3. She often had a skeptical look which said, "you don't know what you are doing". She was right. -
FrankFrank, Oil on masonite - Frank worked with me at Martick's as a waiter. One of the few who liked posing. -
Nude PortraitNude Portrait, Oil on linen - A nude done on Chase street from a MICA model transported to an Italian Renaissance landscape. -
Self PortraitSelf Portrait , Oil on linen - Over a decade old but the most recent self-portrait I have done.
Narrative and Allegorical
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Triple Self- PortraitTriple Self-Portrait, Oil on linen - In college I studied Jungian psychology which postulated that the myths of a culture are its collective dreams. In gestalt psychotherapy they postulate that all of the people in your dreams are just projections of various aspects of yourself. That, of course, has to be true because you are creating the characters in your dream. (continued in next slide) -
Triple Self-Portrait (detail)Triple Self-Portrait (detail) The angel, Oil on linen - This changes the meaning of the story to we are our own angel and our own destroyer. I feel in life, everyday we make decisions that are either out of self-love and respect or self destruction. We think positively or negatively about ourselves. It is important to me to become aware of this internal dialogue. If we do not love and respect ourselves we cannot love and respect others and appreciate the richness of our existence. That is what this painting is about. -
Triple Self-Portrait (detail)Triple Self-Portrait (detail) The decider and destroyer, Oil on linen - -
Triple Self-Portrait (detail)Triple Self-Portrait (detail) , Oil on linen - The victim. -
The Relation of Spirituality to Sensuality in Western ReligionThe Relation of Spirituality to Sensuality in Western Religion, Oil on cast plaster, Bas-relief - A painted bas-relief inspired by the attack of the Christian right on gay and lesbian relationships. Cupids draw back the cloth to reveal two young girls exploring their bodies. The angel of the Lord appears and splashes cold water on them, brandishing a cross and saying, "You can't do that". -
Allure of the FeminineAllure of the Feminine, Oil on cast plaster, Bas-relief - The moths encircling the flame on the lower left are a reference to a Marlene Dietrich song from the film Blue Angel: "Men are drawn to me like moths to a flame." The empty urn on the right is a reference to Carl Jung's hypothesis that in the beginning of relationships, people are like empty urns which their partner fills with their own projections. After a few months, the urns begin to fill with the reality of each partner's personality. Whether or not the projections can co-mingle with the reality determines if the relationship will last. -
Wrestling with MyselfWrestling with Myself, Oil on linen - In high school I competed as a wrestler. Now the only thing I wrestle with is myself. -
The Nature of TruthThe Nature of Truth, Oil on linen - I feel I can use painting to illustrate certain "truths" that I have discovered while living. Man, on the path of life, comes across beauty (truth). Heaven rushes to veil it. We get glimpses of truth but then they fade. -
Suzan's DreamSuzan's Dream, Oil on linen - This painting is from a dream my ex wife told me about when we were still together. In the dream she said she was sleeping in a clearing in the woods and awoke to find me standing over her dressed in black. So I painted her dream. I think the dream was pre-cognitive. A few years later we split up and she viewed me as a dark character dressed in black. -
The Triumph of the FeminineThe Triumph of the Feminine, Oil on linen - The painting tells the story of how man, both primitive and contemporary, have competed and left the earth beneath them barren. the vulture awaits their death. The feminine leaps above them, her toe pointed towards fertile earth. We all have both feminine and masculine aspects within us. In today's world we are experiencing the results of masculine dominance, weapons of mass destruction and the threat climate change poses to our species. If we are to survive we need what I characterize as more feminine qualities to triumph. These qualities are less competitive, putting more value on community, co-operation and more holistic approach to life. In the end we will need a rebalancing of feminine and masculine traits to survive.
Sculpture
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Helping HandsHelping Hands, Cast bronze - These are details from the sculpture of "Helping Hands". the basis for which I explained in my work samples. -
Helping Hands (detail)Helping Hands (detail) , Cast bronze - -
Helping Hands (detail)Helping Hands (detail), Cast bronze -
Libby Rouse MemorialLibby Rouse Memorial, sculpted in wet clay, Cast in bronze - When my mother died in 2010 she left $75,000 for a memorial for her in Colombia. She and my father separated and divorced shortly after Columbia went under construction. My mother has been interested in community since she was a child. Many of the ideas that eventually became incorporated into Colombia began with her. -
Libby Rouse Memorial (detail)But because of their separation, my mother felt she never received any acknowledgement for her role in Columbia. Thus the desire for a memorial. Having just completed a course at MICA in doing life size figurative sculpture, I took on the task of creating this memorial for her. Going through her things I came across a beautiful photograph from 1926 of her as a twelve year old with her dog. -
Libby Rouse Memorial (detail)I thought this would make an appropriate memorial because my mother's passion for community began as a child raised in a victorian household where her parents endured a loveless marriage. I wanted to show how the passions and dreams of a child could grow into a full-fledged reality. I have grown to feel that particularly girls in pre-pubescence develop a clear-eyed vision of what's wrong with society before adolescent hormones kick in. (Witness Greta Thunberg's role in leading the world to address climate change.) -
Libby Rouse Memorial (detail)I was fortunate to find that the Kittamaqundi community in Columbia, a church my mother had a role in starting, welcomed having this memorial placed in the new garden they were building. -
Portrait of Old ManPortrait of Old Man, Sculpted in wet clay, Cast in plaster -
Standing Male NudeStanding Male Nude, Sculpted in wet clay -
Standing Male NudeStanding Male Nude, Sculpted in wet clay, Cast in plaster
Prints and Drawings
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Suzanne and LouieSuzanne and Louie, Woodblock print on paper - Woodcuts always appealed to me. I taught myself how to do them after many trials and errors. This was one of my first. Louie age 3 with his mother when we lived on Chase Street. -
Tugboats at FellsTugboats at Fells, Woodblock print on paper - Another Fells Point scene when what is now Hotel Pendry was a tugboat warehouse in the 1970's. -
Saint Paul and Chase Street Looking WestSaint Paul and Chase Street Looking West, Woodblock print on paper - When I lived in Mount Vernon I used to go out on the street and sketch and come back home and turn them into woodcuts. -
Saint Paul and Read Street Looking SouthSaint Paul and Read Street Looking South, Woodblock print on paper - I liked sketching intersections because of the activity. Remember when you print woodcuts, the images are reversed. -
Mount Vernon ParkMount Vernon Park, Woodblock print on paper - You can tell this is old, the man is reading a newspaper. -
Narcissus and EchoNarcissus and Echo, Watercolor and Ink on paper - One of my favorite Greek myths from Ovid's Metamorphosis. I don't think our present narcissistic leader would have ignored the girl, Echo. -
The Oppression of the FeminineThe Oppression of the Feminine, Watercolor and graphite on paper - The Oppression of the Feminine, A graphite and watercolor drawing revisiting the theme of patriarchy. Drawings like this help me envision stories I want to tell. -
Figure DrawingFigure Drawing, Graphite on paper - A seated figure done at MICA's open studio night. Covid cancelled the program. I hope they bring it back. -
Leda and the SwanLeda and the Swan, Ink on paper - A study of Leda and the Swan after a reproduction of a Correggio painting. I learned a lot doing studies of old works I liked but transposing the mediums to use different tools. -
Standing Male FigureStanding Male Figure, Graphite and Watercolor on paper - A standing male nude in a very short active pose, done with graphite and watercolor again at MICA's open studio night.
