Jeff Cocanour Works

BACKGROUND

The Cocanour’s moved to Granbury in the late 1980’s. Jeff has been creating artworks since he was young. He was a student of local Artist, Mike Tabor, from 7th-12th grade. Upon graduating a Pirate he earned his BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Columbia College-NASJRB focusing on Visual Arts & Design at Texas Tech, Tarleton State, and The University of North Texas. Jeff served as an Art Instructor 2008 - 2011, operated Cocanour Gallery downtown Fort Worth 2012-2016, and contributed to various Solo & Group Exhibitions, Auctions, Publications, and Private Collections.

MEDIUM & TECHNIQUE

The selected “Cowboy Cubism” pieces mark the inception of a larger body of work Cocanour calls Western Conversion. These figurative paintings, constructed with angular treatments and robust impasto grit, evoke a high level of abstraction reminiscent of art from a century ago. The allure of the cubist technique lies in seducing a reductive process to distill a subject to their quintessential forms. Jeff’s expressionist approach enhances this by manipulating shape, color, texture, and often disembodied penumbrae lighting to orchestrate a captivating interplay of flatness and depth. This intricate balance houses the discernible representation of gestural figure drawings seemingly mashed into their hardwood frames. Acrylic, latex, gypsum, and charcoal are utilized to create the larger works on canvas, whereas the more intimate relief studies emerge as byproducts of the artist’s process. These studies conceptualize the compositions through an additive collage method of mixed media paintings on cut papers, adhesive, water-based clay, and wood.

INSPIRATION

This work draws heavily from significant art movements of the 20th century, deftly merging the fragmentation of Cubism with the dynamic spontaneity of Abstract Expressionism. Cocanour’s work is derived by the notion of combining sculptural, shape, surface, figuration, and movement, from titans such as Tom Wesselmann, Jacques Lipchitz, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Stuart Davis, and Willem de Kooning. “I’m thinking about the remnants left by these powerhouses through the lens of modern regional painting. The cowgirls and cowboys, for now, are serving as a static subject like Pablo’s ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,’ while I examine my own perspective, place and process; immersing myself further into the act of painting itself.”