Ode to the Butterfly

By Jack Morris

Canvas Painting

Wildly colorful and Vibrant.

Jack, the accomplished artist, whose unique work is featured in countless corporate and private collections throughout the United States, said he's never at a loss for inspiration.

"Color makes the piece; I'm just the manager," Jack said as he explained his painting technique which is full of light and texture. "I use colors that work together and watch as they push and pull to interact with each other. I like to build things up and move them around. I love to see spontaneous color patterns develop."

Jack, whose given name is John, said he's been an artist since the 10th grade. He received a Bachelor of Science degree, with a major in Art Education, from the University of Wisconsin Stout and a Masters Degree of Fine Arts, majoring in painting, from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Following a collegiate teaching career in Wisconsin and Colorado, Jack went to work for FedEx, where he retired from in 2012. Now he paints every day in his garage, a make-shift studio where old buckets of paint line the shelves and works in progress are errantly stacked just outside the border of a paint-splattered floor. Even his backyard is full of magic and color, dense with a vegetable garden, bird baths, a hand-built chiminea with bricks from his mother's home, and a real tortoise named Sunburst.

"I've been here 20 years. This town inspires me. I enjoy this town and its people."