Welcome to Colleywobble Revisited, the Blog of Jeffrey Hood and a bit about life here at my eclectic home in the Tennesse Mountains that I have named Colleywobble House. The Revisted part is a refrence to my favorite book, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. Several years ago, in a newspaper article covering a solo exhibit of my paintings, the reporter asked about me about my interests, hobbies and passtimes. An hour later, it was clear to him that he had opened a bottomless box. Following is my take on his sense of time: “I am one of those lucky people who has never known the word boredom. Each day is a opportunity to discover something new, or to learn more about something already familiar. Time is my enemy and there just are not enough hours in a day to follow all of my myriad interests. The world is my classroom, and I soak up it’s knowledge greedily. If I have to name a singular passion, it would be for art. I am a painter. I am convinced the universe has planned it this way. In this same vein, I use my home and my surrounds like a canvas. From interior decor to displaying my ever growing collection of treasures, my environment is a constantly evolving three dimensional work of art”
The following is from a press release for one event or another:
Born in San Antonio, TX, and raised in Alaska, Tennessee, and—as the son of an Air Force Master Sergeant —“every point in between,” Jeff Hood has resided in the Crossville area for some 30 years. A 1978 graduate from CCHS and former student at Tennessee Tech, Hood spent his free time developing his own personal style of painting. Now that he is able to pursue his dreams on his own schedule, he is finally able to devote full-time to pursuit of his passion: three-dimensional, whimsical, abstract art.
Thinking of his work as “odes to architecture and archeology,” Hood divides his canvas into sectors as you would a home, then starts constructing, using lime plaster, acrylics, water colors, photographs, collected elements, found objects, old parts and unidentifiable artifacts to create depth in his paintings. He observes, “You would be amazed at my prowess in scouring antique shows, parking lots, flea markets, and yard sales—particularly the 127 Sale.”
Hood’s research in language and history of religions and civilization is extensive, and he is currently learning to read documents written in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. Such curiosities influence his work, with the time-consuming incorporation of the past to become the future. The artist has won numerous painting competitions throughout the Southeast and has received special commendation from Chattanooga’s Hunter Museum, which now displays one of his works. Saturn Corporation and private collectors all over the United States, as well as in such countries as Japan, Ireland, Scotland, Soviet Union, Belgium, and Australia, have also acquired some 500 pieces of his art. In addition, Hood has been spotlighted on HGTV and in USA Today, as well as in many other newspapers which picked up the feature.
jhood explains his perspective in his work: “Drawing upon the rich diversity of our existence, I seek to convey the nature of the textures and colors of our many realities – the physical and mental; the past, present and future; the cognizant and the dream state – in a subtle layering that suggests recollected emotions. An anthropologist and polyglot at heart, I am fascinated by the mystery of vanished peoples, the rhythm of lost or forgotten languages and the lure of ancient habitations. Like the panels removed from a Tuscan monastery, the textures and layering of elements suggests the passing of time through a framework of implied architectural elements. Quirky shapes, unexpected colors and the interplay of patterns allow the work to become, at once, pre- and post-modern.”
Intending that his work enhance rather than dominate the display surroundings, Hood describes his art: “Normally, the work celebrates obscurity–influencing a space by depth of shadings, tonalities and textures. To strike a deep-seated chord in which specifics are subordinate to the invitation to discover the unexpected. Rarely does the work seek to viscerally dominate.
“The nature of abstract painting leads to the inevitable question. “But what IS it?” The answers are myriad. There are no absolutes. The expression of one soul made tangible. One creation that is unique in the world. Such is the desire of all who create.”
Hood can trace his family tree as far back as the 1590s, proven through DNA testing. He may not have been born in Tennessee, but his family is one of the oldest families on the plateau and has the distinction of holding the U.S. record for living on the same piece of land (in Fentress County) for 240 consecutive years.
Check out my website at www.jeffreyhood.com
