Artist uses personal approach

Sarah Lynch/The Independent

Argillite May 29, 2007 11:52 pm

— Jeffrey Scott Holland’s art has been shown in Los Angeles, New York and Paris. But local art lovers are getting a chance to see Holland’s style of “primitive neo-expressionism” a little closer to home.
Greenbo Lake State Resort Park in Greenup County will host Holland’s art show through Thursday.
This is Holland’s longest session, which began on Monday. He said his intention for his four-day stay at the resort was to spend most of his time painting for the public.
Holland, a native of Madison County who lives in Louisville, can be found painting at the park lodge or under a big tree close to the public pool entrance. He has been commissioned by the state to paint a picture of the park’s new amphitheater, which officially opened on Tuesday.
“This is by far the best state park I have ever been to,” Holland said. “The beautiful surroundings are a perfect inspiration for any artist.”
When he is painting outside the resort, Holland will demonstrate “Dark Observatory,” where he works on paintings in front of an audience while talking about his views on art and his influences and tells stories about growing up on a farm and “bumming around” the states before becoming a professional painter in the 1980s.
In January, he performed “Dark Observatory” at Actors Theatre in Louisville.
“Usually, when I do this I am in more of a lecture-type setting,” he explained. “Here I am kind of just chit-chatting with the people watching and talking about what ever pops into my head.”
In the lobby of Jesse Stuart Lodge, “Icons of the Wilderness” is on exhibit. This is a showing of recent paintings by Holland and those that have traveled the world in the past 20 years.
Holland, who started expressing artistic abilities at less than a year old, is working on two large canvas paintings.
“One is a girl playing old 78 records on a Victrola,” he explained. “The other one is memory from when I lived in the country.”
The artist said he was playing in a wooded area as a child and came upon a strange scene of trees that were decorated with baby dolls and other “odd art.”
“No one ever knew who was doing it. Eventually, people went in there and tore it all down,” Holland said. “But this is kind of my homage to that memory.”
Over the next couple of months, Holland’s work will be shown in France, Ecuador, Mexico, Malaysia and Lawrence, Mass.
For more information about the artist or to view his work, visit jeffreyscottholland.com.
For more information about the exhibit or other events at the park, call (800) 325-0083 or visit parks.ky.gov.
SARAH LYNCH can be reached at slynch@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2650.