30 Apr Quiet Permanence

Jeremy Lipking keeps trying to wrap his head around the fact that he and more than 30 of his paintings are subjects of a retrospective at the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia.

“Honestly,” he says, “when they asked me, I thought, ‘Have I been around long enough to do a retrospective?’ I guess I have. I’m 50 now.”

Many art insiders, however, say that Jeremy Lipking – 30 Years a Painter (1996-2026), which opened April 11 and is scheduled to close August 16, is overdue.

Skylar at Five | Oil on Canvas | 10 x 8 inches | 2008

“While there are many incredibly talented figurative painters, very few combine an incredible level of skill along with what we call ‘a signature style,’” says Steve Diamant of New York City’s Arcadia Contemporary, which plans to hold Lipking’s next major one-man exhibition in 2027. “By that I mean that the moment you see a work by Jeremy Lipking, you immediately know that he painted it.

Nasturtiums | Oil on Canvas | 12 x 9 inches | 2006

“As important as his skill, if not more so, is the fact that his paintings never border on being ‘decorative.’ Whether a work depicts a child or a nude woman, the images never appear to be pretty, sweet, or overly sentimental. That, in itself, is a major reason why his work is so popular and revered. He paints the truth, not just an overly sweet version of it.”

Adds Symi Jackson, Lipking’s studio coordinator: “He combines naturalism with a refined realism, and his paintings celebrate simple, everyday life. His models are often dressed in unique outfits that are reminiscent of an earlier era. They are classic and romantic. His choice of backgrounds and his exquisite use of light are the perfect finishing touches.”

The White Line | Oil on Canvas | 30 x 40 inches | 2025 | Private Collection

Lipking, whose paintings range in size from 4- by 6-inch miniatures to major works of 50 by 70 inches, says he doesn’t have a favorite size in which to work.

“I’ve thought about that a lot,” he says, “and when I’m painting a little 6-by-8 outside from life, I really want to do that. I enjoy it so much and think: This is what painting’s about. Just painting direct [from life]. You’ve got a subject right there in front of you, no artificial light or computers or anything, and it feels so natural and comfortable.”

Skylar, Turquoise and White | Oil on Canvas | 24 x 16 inches | 2017 | Private Collection

But when he’s back in the studio, with a painting on an easel … “I’m like, this is really what it’s all about because I’m painting more from memory and not really relying on a live model or photograph, even though I use photos in my studio. I put all my references away after a little while, and I just look at the painting on its own and I kind of dictate where that’s going to go. Painting large canvases in a studio is freeing … it feels like you can almost do anything you want. I love that feeling. So, it’s hard to say.”

Bear River Guard Shack | Oil on Canvas | 40 x 24 inches | 2019

Nor does he favor painting indoors or outdoors.

“I love being outdoors, but it also gives me a lot of ideas for studio paintings,” he says. “Sometimes I get an idea, I’ll find the right model and go through my rolodex of landscapes that I know about and I’ll bring the model out there and try to set up a scene.

Portrait of a Cowboy | Oil on Canvas | 12 x 12 inches | 2025 | Private Collection

“When I do studio paintings, I’m using a combination of sketches, photos and also just painting from memory. So I’ll collect whatever references I need and go about it that way. Other times I’m painting outdoors, there’s something about the scene that inspires me. It could be a particular pose or just one little moment like a model changing poses or getting into a pose. It hits you really quick, and I just save that in my mind for a future painting. Most of the time, I get ideas when I’m outside sketching a landscape.”

He even becomes emotionally attached to some paintings.

“There’s one in particular that, when it was over, I was sad,” he recalls. “I spent quite a while – at least a month – on this painting of a woman with some dogs on a Navajo reservation. There were just all these cool little details and the landscape. I just got so lost in that and had so much joy doing that painting that I was sad when it was over.”

Adrift | Oil on Canvas | 40 x 40 inches | 2013

Unsure of how he got to where he is now, Lipking guesses it was a combination of early influences gleaned from paintings he liked as a kid.

First was his father. Working in advertising and as an illustrator (perhaps best known as a contributor to Sesame Street Magazine), Ronald C. “Ron” Lipking made his art supplies available to his son and took him to museums, art galleries, and art shows.

North Shore | Oil on Canvas | 6 x 8 inches | 2022

“It just seemed kind of normal,” Lipking recalls. “Once you grow up, you realize it’s not. Not everybody gets exposed to that much art early on.”

His father introduced him to the works of Edgar Paine [1883-1947], known for his California landscapes. When Lipking was older, he discovered John Singer Sargent “and kind of fell in love with his work.” And many summer vacations were spent in the eastern Sierra Nevada range. “Even now, we have a family cabin up in the eastern Sierra,” he says.

Diaphanous Gown | Oil on Canvas | 52 x 26 inches | 2007

What’s the hardest part of painting for a living?

“It’s not coming up with the ideas,” Lipking says. “I get more good ideas than I have time for. I have a lot of kids [youngest 9, oldest 31], and they’re all spread out, so I’ve had kids most of my adult life. At my age now, I think I’ve slowed down to do all the paintings that I want to do. But also I’m committed to some shows, too.”

Weapons of Beauty | Oil on Canvas | 24 x 40 inches | 2025

The focus now is on the Booth exhibition. “Most of these paintings are in private collections, and this is an extremely rare opportunity to see them together and experience Lipking’s journey as an artist,” Booth curator Lisa Wheeler says. “We think it will bring new audiences to the Booth Western Art Museum.”

Fall Aspens | Oil on Canvas | 40 x 24 inches | 2016

Adds Jackson: “When you stand in front of a Lipking, you immediately recognize that you are looking at the work of a master of our time. The paintings carry both technical authority and quiet permanence — the sense that they are not just contemporary works, but paintings that will endure long beyond us, no doubt, finding their place in museums and continuing to speak to future generations.”

Danielle in Red Scarf | Oil on Canvas | 24 x 18 inches | 2003

Roughly 15 years ago, J. Mark Sublette, owner of Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Arizona, got a close look at Lipking at work on a painting trip with artists Glenn Dean, Josh Elliott, and Logan Maxwell Hagege.

“I’ve watched [Lipking] paint outdoors, and he’s a terrific painter,” Sublette says. “And his fellow artists very much respect his work. When they see his work, they all kind of agree, ‘Yeah, this guy can really paint.’”