It took some time before Jed Sutter turned towards his life’s calling. Growing up in the fishing town of Kennebunkport, Maine, in the 1960s and 70s, both his mother and sister were artists.
“I grew up drawing, enjoying art class, and feeling artistic, but never I considered myself an artist, per se,” admitted Sutter in a piece published on Artsy Shark.
It was only much later, in his mid-50s, that Sutter would discover painting, realizing a passion that was always there. According to Sutter, once the urge struck for him to join his mother and sister, it seemed as if he’d been painting all along.
Indeed, his process seems very intuitive, with the end result often reminding him of a photo rather than a painting: “For me, seeing a scene, catching a glimpse of something and feeling the need to get it on canvas is as strong as a heartbeat,” reflected the self-taught realist painter on his website. “Into the studio I go, and go, until I glance at it and it’s right.”
Based in Boston and the Maine coast, Sutter’s paintings often take after his surroundings, an homage to his home and landscape. With people mostly absent from his work, his subjects include the urban architecture, an aging trolley that rumbles behind his home, the shores and harbors of his youth, and anything else that has caught his eye.
Having started painting in 2016, by 2017 Sutter had already applied for his first show and was invited to show for the month of July 2018 at the Newton Free Library. His accolades now include having won a Blue Ribbon in the Third Annual Gallery 334 Art Exhibition and an Award of Merit at the Copley Society of Art.
His work and life story might just inspire you to start painting.
