Statement

My previous work, created from 2001-2010, delved into personal narratives inspired by the female experience. These paintings illustrate universal female topics such as fertility, caregiving, nurturing, the physical metamorphosis from puberty to maturity and feminine sexuality.

My recent work, “Myths, Legends and Lore” consists of narrative portraits of women from life and fiction. Gleaned from history, mythology and legendary tales, the women that inhabit these works range from icons and role models to feminine identities.

While some portraits depict a specific individual, others are archetypal in nature. Each represents a woman who did not conform to the cultural dictates of her time or symbolizes the potential of womankind beyond cultural boundaries. As a female artist, I’ve always been drawn to create work that centers around the female experience. Women’s history has historically been told from a patriarchal perspective. But, just as history flows into the present in an ever-changing state, so does the female narrative morph over time. These paintings are intended to illustrate a history of feminine identity, as seen through a contemporary lens.

I combine traditional and contemporary techniques as a means to portray this past-to-present portraiture. The face, hands and body of the figures are painted in a traditional manner to reflect their existence in the past, while the garments are flat planes of color, inspired by1960’s cartoon illustration. Flat graphic background designs, rendered in a contemporary color palette, reference historically female-centric crafts; quilting, embroidery

 and the decorative arts. Floral elements denote both the individual’s narrative and, another historically female-centric subject, the garden. Gold leaf used to create “halos or auras” is not intended to convey deity, but to symbolize the strength and beauty of the feminine psyche.

 The patterned and botanical environments, along with gold leaf applications and contemporary color palettes are formally influenced by a spectrum of 19th - 21st century artists and artisans; from Henri Rousseau, Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt and the Wiener Werkstatte to 1960’s cartoon animation.

BIO

Honora Jacob received her first Bachelors Degree in Communication Arts from the University of Texas to pursue a career as an advertising art director. Twenty-two years later, a move to Kentucky provided her with time to reflect on her life path. She then turned her attention to a career change following her first passion, painting, and returned to university to receive her second Bachelors Degree, a B.F.A. in Studio Arts. After which, she attended the Masters of Fine Arts program in Painting at the University of Kentucky.

 A return to Texas in 2003, initiated a period of dividing her time between the U.S. and the U.K., where the experience of living as a non-native provided inspiration for her early narrative works. Fast forward to 2018, Ms. Jacob relocated to Kentucky once again, where she currently resides full-time.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Myths, Legends and Lore, Lexington Art League, Lexington KY 2022

Legends and Lore, Pam Miller Downtown Arts Ctr, Lexington KY 2020

Contemporary Histories, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin TX 2016

Recycled Histories, Jack Meier Gallery, Houston TX 2014

Meditations, Jack Meier Gallery, Houston TX 2012

Midwinter Night's Dream, Charla Wood Studios, Austin, TX 2010

Memory and Meditations, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin TX 2010

Honora Jacob: New Works, Wally Workman Gallery, Austin TX 2008

Perspectives, Guadalupe Arts Center, Austin TX 2004

Expectations and Realities, Lexington Art League, Lexington KY 2002
 

CORPORATE COLLECTIONS AND COMMISSIONS

Action Figure Productions / TX
Camp Kasbah / CO (commission) Donarra Thoroughbreds / FL
Galway Bloodstock / KY
KickSkirt Branding and Marketing / CO
Laura Gottesman Real Estate / TX
Marc English Design /TX
Maker’s Mark Bourbon / KY NUI Organics / N.Z.
W Hotels / U.S.
28N / TX

GRANTS AND AWARDS
2019 - Women’s Art Club of Cinicinnati /128th Juried Exhibit/Award of Excellence 2014 - Austin Cultural Council / People’s Gallery Award 2010 - Austin Cultural Council / People’s Gallery Award
2008 - Austin Cultural Council / People’s Gallery Award 2001 - N.E.A. & Lexington Arts & Cultural Council / Individual Artist Grant                  

EDUCATION
MFA Painting candidate - University of Kentucky, 2001-2002
B.F.A. Painting/Eastern Kentucky University, 2001                     B.S. Communication Arts/University of Texas, 1983

VIRTUAL TOURS

February 2016 / Wally Workman Gallery