Lessons Learned

A beautiful shot of Lessons Learned, an exhibition featuring new paintings by Jay GIroux.
Date Created:   2023 Selected Works:  9

Keep sincerity as the cornerstone of art making.

Installation view of Magic Carpet Ride and Totem.
Detail image of Totem and Magic Carpet Ride from Lessons Learned.

12 Guiding Principles

  1. Draw often to improve observation and thinking. 
  2. Keep sincerity as the cornerstone of art making.
  3. Practice rituals and habits dominated by a health and wellness lifestyle.
  4. Make collaboration an active branch of the studio practice. 
  5. Capitalize on technical skills, material proficiency, and new technology to enhance the overall experience.  
  6. Embrace risk taking as a guide to discovery while exploiting the tension between controlled and accidental mark making. 
  7. Avoid loaded subject matter and trends unless necessary. 
  8. Oscillate between communication and disruption. 
  9. Simplicity in favor of complexity. 
  10. Be unconcerned about mass appeal. 
  11. Stay open to prompts from the universe. 
  12. Go skate. 
Totem sculpture by Jay Giroux.
A set of sharply painted canvases by Jay Giroux.
Lessons Learned installation view featuring 6 detail oriented paintings by Jay Giroux.
Thirst and Monkey on my Back, two large scale paintings by artist Jay Giroux.

Principles are essential.

It’s the cultivation of principles such as discipline and experimentation that allow ideas to grow. Rather than a statement about this new body of work, it’s the 12 principles listed above that ground the exhibition Lessons Learned.

These 12 concepts provided Giroux with a framework for making decisions and solving problems, allowing him to navigate the creative process with confidence and intentionality.

Razzle Dazzle. A 72 x 35 inch painting.

Title:  Razzle Dazzle Medium:  Acrylic, molding paste, and acrylic spray paint on canvas over panel Size:  72 x 35 in. Date:  2023

Title:  Thirst Trap Medium:  Acrylic on canvas over panel Size:  72 x 35 in. Date:  2023

A large canvas painted with acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas.

Title:  Magic Carpet Ride Medium:  Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas Size:  84.5 x 121 in. Date:  2023

Detail of Monkey on My Back, a painting by Jay Giroux.
Detail of Monkey on My Back, a well executed painting by Giroux.
Title:  Monkey on My Back Medium:  Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas over panel Size:  72 x 35 in. Date:  2023
Who doesn't love a painted skull. Game Over, a large scale painting by Giroux.

Title:  Game Over Medium:  Acrylic and acrylic spray paint on canvas over panel Size:  72 x 35 in. Date:  2023

A 72 x 35 inch acrylic on canvas painting by Jay Giroux.

Title:  Take Two and Call Me Medium:  Acrylic on canvas over panel Size:  72 x 35 in. Date:  2023

Based on a club wristband, this is an image of a painting by Giroux.

Title:  Last Call Medium:  Acrylic on canvas over panel Size:  72 x 35 in. Date:  2023

Stay open to prompts from the universe.