Artist Jo Jasper Dean has long admired the physicality of oil paintings. “I love the heady aroma [oil paint] emits, its buttery texture, the feel of it gliding on to the canvas and the rich intensity of saturated colors available,” she says. Through her slow layering of brush strokes and choice of vibrant pigments, Dean has created oil paintings that feel like images come to life.
For Dean, oil paint can immerse audiences in an artistic vision. Case in point, a recent work she completed for Barnes Jewish Hospital features a peony blossom decked out in vibrant colors and rich textures, both of which she used to make the flower seem real. “[The painting] welcomes viewers to step closer and feel as if they are inside the blossom,” she says.
To create this sense of emotional immediacy, Dean took inspiration from Rembrandt and Monet. When she first started painting, she diligently learned how to master oil painting by copying their styles, she says. “But I grew tired of painting like other artists and wanted to paint like me—whatever that was,” she explains. “So, I developed a unique style that combines the realistic quality of Rembrandt and the freestyle use of color of Monet by applying thick, juicy brushstrokes in a kaleidoscope of colors.”
Dean tries to make her artwork feel real by dutifully mimicking her subject’s shape and form, but at the same time, she likes injecting a fantastical, “sometimes raucous application” of vibrant colors. “Painting in this way and in this palette gives me pure joy and conveys the energy and movement I see and feel when I am captivated by my subject,” she says.
And her “distinctive visual voice,” continues to find admirers. This year, she’s been invited to the Duane Reed Gallery Small Works Invitational July 24–Aug 22, 2026. “I am also thrilled to have a solo exhibition coming up at the Angad Arts Hotel in Grand Center later this year.” It opens Dec. 4, with a reception from 5-8 pm, for the Grand Centers First Friday Artwalk. The exhibition will be on view through February 2027.
See https://www.jojasperdean.com/ for more!
