Jacobe is a versatile artist who focuses on still lifes, pen & ink grid portraits and pop art paintings. He is also known to create abstract work, illustrations and wall murals. Through Jacobe's artistic style he does not strive to make great philosophical or political statements. His ambitions are a bit more simplified. He attempts, at the very least, to supply his audience with something visually appealing that grabs their attention and evokes a mood.
Jacobe's still life work has a realistic representational style, however, he wants the viewers to have no doubt they are looking at artwork which was created by hand, therefore, he does not strive for a complete photo-realistic effect. He photographs his subjects and chooses the photo that best represents composition, placement and contrast. His intent is to show how well his subjects can come to life by creating an illusion of depth and sense of presence not found in the photograph. With careful observation and fine detail, he begins sketching and painting the photo on art panels or canvas. He enjoys working in all different dimensions, therefore, he creates his own wooden art panels in order to control size and depth of each piece of work. Jacobe's strong connection between art and food comes from his Sicilian background and family's Italian restaurants, making this theme a prominent part of his life, and giving the reason it has found a central place in his work.
Jacobe's grid portrait illustrations are created from high contrast photos. He begins by drafting square grids on both the picture and the drawing surface. Using only fine tip pens he individually fills in each square with shapes, symbols and words that connect to the person's life. His work develops strong areas of contrast, some patterns having solid areas of black while others have a very faint texture/line quality. The finished product is not only a unique and detailed replica of the image portrayed in the photograph, but it also holds a personal story of the individual. Jacobe's grid portraits developed through his love of illustration and fine detail, as well as inspiration from Chuck Close.
Jacobe's pop art paintings are a true reflection of his graphic design background. He began these paintings due to his appreciation of design, simplicity and empty space. Jacobe uses spray paint and a precise cut-out stenciling method to produce his work. These pieces deliver an urban appeal that are dependent on color, contrast and composition. The use of layering and contemporary techniques, as well as his use of bright colors, provide stark contrast and strong impressions. A meticulous multi-step process is used to create these works. He paints his first layer a solid color, carefully covers it up with tape, cuts out his first object with an X-Acto knife and then applies the paint. He continues this process repeatedly until the final layer is produced. The finished product is then revealed. Most of his pop art paintings are vast in size and are always created on his own self-made wooden art panels.
You may wonder when Jacobe will begin painting one type of subject. The answer is, probably never. He finds it much more interesting to work in a variety of genres. He has always felt incredible satisfaction by watching something materialize in front of him. He believes creating art can transport him to another world, becoming a very addictive but rewarding leisure.
