Artist Jerielle Hanlon blends artistic influences with iconic figures from the Bluegrass state
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Artist Jerielle Hanlon loves Kentucky, and is using her artwork to share that love with others. From Ale-8 One to the Kentucky Wildcats, Hanlon chooses subject matter which reflects the unique culture of the Bluegrass state while paying homage to the artists who have inspired her.
Hanlon has been studying art since childhood, and said it has always played a role in her life. Hanlon studied studio art at the University of Kentucky and Transylvania University, and has traveled the globe from the Czech Republic to Japan to learn about different media and techniques. While Hanlon has done everything from sculpture to photography, she focuses mainly on painting now, and uses acrylic paint for most of her pieces.
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Not long after Hanlon decided to pursue a career as a professional artist, she went to the 2012 NCAA Final Four tournament in New Orleans, which the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team ultimately won. Hanlon not only found new subject matter, but a new respect for the game of basketball.
“My art has always been about a sense of pride in what we have culturally in Kentucky, and I was really inspired by what I experienced in New Orleans,” Hanlon said. “It was insanely awesome for me to see this thing that brought so many people from Kentucky together. Once you become a part of that, you really feel like you have a huge family. And, the team that year was really inspiring, just the way they worked together and were like a family was inspiring. They really loved each other, and you could see that. And that inspired me to get into basketball.” As Hanlon dived further into her budding interest in basketball, she said she was able to draw parallels between the cultural impact of art and sports, and how both things can draw people together through shared appreciation.
Hanlon has been influenced by a wide range of artists, from Mexican surrealist Frida Kahlo to 1960s pop artist Andy Warhol, and often let their work inspire her paintings of the UK team and players. Hanlon channeled Kahlo’s self portraits for two images she did of UK forward Anthony Davis, and was moved to do so because both are known for having unibrows.
“I was really surprised after I did those paintings with how many people knew of Frida Kahlo,” she said.
Hanlon also uses pop culture references in her paintings. She has done portraits of Doron Lamb in restraints ala Hannibal Lecter from the movie, “The Silence of the Lambs,” because it was said Lamb “couldn’t be contained.” She transformed Terrence Jones into a Terminator robot in another painting, and has also done portraits of Darius Miller, Patrick Patterson and Demarcus Cousins, as well as the team as a whole and several paintings of head coach John Calipari. Hanlon is planning to paint a full-length portrait of Calipari in the near future, and was recently commissioned to do a portrait by legendary UK coach, Joe B. Hall, after he saw some of her paintings of the 2012 Wildcats.
Hanlon is not just inspired by the Wildcats, but by all things Kentucky. Another series Hanlon has recently worked on was inspired by the state’s signature soft drink, Ale-8-One, and the works of Warhol.
“Ale-8 is something only Kentucky has, and it’s something people from Kentucky feel a sense of ownership of,” she said. “A lot of times with my subject matter, I’m thinking of how I can give this community which I’m a part of examples of things they can feel proud of, and which will give them a sense of identity. I want to make art everyone can relate to – everyone who lives in Kentucky, is from Kentucky or who has loved Kentucky.”
Hanlon sells prints all over the country and beyond to people with a connection to the state. “No matter where you go, you still keep that love of Kentucky in your heart,” she said.
On Display
Hanlon will be selling her work at the Lexington Art Fair, Nov. 23-24, at the Lexington Convention Center. She will also have several pieces on display at the Good Foods Co-Op through December, and has works on display at North Lime Coffee and Donuts, Rosebuds, Trust Lounge and Meg C’s Jewelry Gallery. Prints of her paintings are on sale at the Morris Book Shop, The Collective, CD Central, Pop’s Resale and online at the Ky Pop Art site on Etsy. Hanlon is available for portraits, murals and commissioned pieces and can be reached at jerielle.art@gmail.com.