Jake Gaedtke

Biography

As a second grader, Jake was completely lost and separated from the rest of his class as they toured the Detroit Museum of Art. The paintings that surrounded him had Jake so spellbound that he was cut off from his class, and found himself mesmerized in a sea of art. He wanted so much to be able to do the work he was seeing before him on the walls. That desire never left him.

Like most landscape painters, Jake loved the outdoors, and he grew up spending a great deal of time camping, fishing, hiking and exploring. As a teenager of sixteen Jake’s parents allowed him to take the two-year Famous Artist Course for Young People, a correspondence art course that started him on a path of learning and discovery of the art world. A high school art teacher fresh out of college bellowed the fire inside of Jake through his passion, enthusiasm, and love for drawing, painting, and art history. His personal interest in learning and growing as an artist is something that has never left him. Jake has spent a lifetime drawing and painting, but he wanted to focus more on landscapes and the natural world he was so close to. An invitation from the landscape painter Jay Moore to take his newly formed one-on-one Mentorship program elevated his skills and awareness, and professionalism. After five grueling months of extremely hard work and study, Jake’s growth as an artist took a professional turn and he hasn’t looked back since. Jake lived on the Front Range of Colorado for almost 40 years. He now lives and works in Bozeman, Montana.

“My purpose as an artist is to share my vision and experience of the natural world and its many marvels. Through the learned disciplines of skilled technique with all the emotion I feel in the moment as I am painting, it is my desire to capture that moment of intense awareness for the viewer to experience and enjoy for themselves. In both my field studies and my studio paintings, I invite the observer to journey with me into a world of total sensory awareness of the countless wonders and manifold expressions of nature.”

Selected Exhibitions

2023
Award of Distinction – American Impressionists Society Online Exhibition
One Man Show – “Heart & Soul”, Cassens Fine Art, Hamilton, Montana. Sold out
Plein Air Montana, Bozeman Art Museum, Bozeman, MT
Artist in Residence, March and May, Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY

2022
Big Horn Rendezvous – Brinton Museum, Sheridan, WY
Brinton 101 Small Works Show, Brinton Museum, Sheridan, WY
Small Works, Great Wonders Show, Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
Plein Air for the Smokies, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Marysville, TN
Small Works Show, Cassens Fine Art, Hamilton, MT
First Place Award – Landscape Category, Art Renewal Center 16th Annual Salon
Finalist – Landscape Category, Art Renewal Center 16th Annual Salon

2021
Big Horn Rendezvous – Brinton Museum, Sheridan, WY
Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters Reunion – Bozeman Art Museum, Bozeman, MT
Embrace The Seasons – Solo Show, Art Focus Gallery, Hamilton, MT
Close to Nature’s Heart – Group Show, Turner Fine Art, Jackson, WY
Small Works, Great Wonders Show, Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
Finalist, Landscape – Art Renewal Center 15th Annual Salon

2020
Small Works Show – Brinton Museum, Sheridan, WY
Weekend In the West, Evergreen, CO
Finalist, Landscape – Art Renewal Center 14th Annual Salon

Artwork to be Showcased