Often described as a quiet, humble man,
Jess DuBois is an American artist. He
graduated from the inaugural class of The
Art Institute of Colorado in 1957.
Jess was among the first graduates of The Art Institute in 1957, but
somehow never received his diploma. DuBois then traveled the country to study with several established artists
including Ray
Vanilla, David
Lafel, and Daniel
Greene.
With a combination Cherokee
and African-American ancestry, Jess is passionate about Indian art. He showcased
it in his successful DuBois Gallery in Estes Park until he was forced to close
after the town’s devastating 1982 flood. He moved back to his native Five
Points neighborhood in Denver, where he cultivated the art of glass-blowing and
sculpture work, and combines those skills with his current portrait work and
additional artistic media.
Jess was presented with the Lifetime Achievement
Award at the 1988 Denver Black Arts Festival, lauded for his “ability to
project the soul of his subjects onto canvas.” The
Denver-area Regional
Transportation District commissioned him to cast a
bronze statue of Denver's first African-American doctor, obstetrician,
Dr.Justina
Ford, dedicated in 1998, that is located at the
30th & Downing Light Rail Station in Denver. Jess
teaches children’s art in a number of local settings, continues to take art
classes himself, and says his goal in life is “to get better and better.”
DuBois is a
native of the Five Points neighborhood where he still lives and paints everyday.
In a testimony to the cultural diversity that has long defined Colorado, he
creates the artistry that reflects his Cherokee and African American roots.
Working in mediums ranging from oils, to pastels, to bronze sculpture, to glass
– art is the most important thing in Jess DuBois’ life.
Although Mr. DuBois’ subject matter ranges from landscapes
to still life to portraits, it’s his ability to see the personal, individual
qualities of people that make his portraitures so special. He finds subjects
whose faces capture the spirit of the West today – a spirit which is
multi-racial, multi-lingual and as diverse as the Indian, Spanish and pioneer
cultures from which the region derives its heritage. Jess DuBois feels strongly
about art as a positive influence in young people’s lives, and four decades of
art from Jess DuBois has inspired, enriched, mentored and motivated many young
Denver artists.
Jess teaches children’s art in a number of local settings, continues to
take art classes himself, and says his goal in life is “To get better and
better.” Jess has a gift for capturing not just the beauty of his subjects, but also
the emotions of a diverse people not yet given such sensitive expression.
Although nearing 70 years of age, DuBois continues to draw or paint every day.
In January, 2004, he was one of
only three honored at the Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts.
DuBois was inducted into the Art
Institute of Colorado Hall of Fame in 2004.
HALL OF FAME 2004
 |
 |
|
Jess DuBois has been honored many times for his outstanding work. |
David Zorn presented Jess with his
long-lost
certificate during the Hall of Fame ceremony. |
Three outstanding graduates of The Art Institute of Colorado who exemplify
success, character and philanthropic effort were inducted into The Art Institute
of Colorado Hall of Fame on Saturday, Aug. 28. The ceremony was part of Grape
Escape, the school's annual alumni food-and-wine event, silent auction and
scholarship fundraiser. Those selected are: Jess DuBois,
well-known painter and sculptor from Denver; James Selak, owner of Zebra Design in Rochester, New York; and renowned Denver fine
artist, Michelle Torrez.
Excerpts from Rocky Mountain News -
July 26, 2006 by Bill Johnson
More than a few people know DuBois, though probably not as many actually
know his name. For more than four years now, he has sat on the 1400 block of Larimer
Street with his pastel pens and charcoal sticks, sketching faces of complete
strangers. That is true, but it is also short-selling him. He also is a Hall of Fame
member of the Art Institute of Colorado and the recipient of both the Denver
Black Arts Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2004 Denver Mayor's
Award for Excellence. The bronze statue at 38th Avenue and Downing Street of Dr. Justina L. Ford,
Denver's first black physician, is his work.
He is 72 years old, a short, stocky man with white hair that flows from
beneath a white ballcap. That his art hangs in galleries across the country
and beyond, you would never know without prodding. He always knew there was an artist in him, he says, even when the Marine
Corps came calling shortly after he graduated from Manual High School during
the Korean War. "I was always proud that I was a 19-year-old Marine sergeant," he
says with a soft laugh. "I was never mean, but one thing I could do was
pretend." Out after three years, he enrolled at the art institute on the G.I. Bill.
He never got the commercial-art jobs he wanted, so he set out on the road,
traveling from city to city, drawing portrait sketches anywhere they wouldn't
chase him off.
"Was I any good? No, but I thought I was," DuBois said. "I
could do it a little bit, but then I started watching other people do it and
got better and better."
He doesn't remember the number of times he was chased off. It was the
1950s. What was a license?
For 15 years, he traveled the country, sketching folks, attending
workshops taught by other artists, learning glass-blowing and sculpture along
the way, trying to get better. And then - he thinks he was in California - someone told him about Estes
Park. They said a man who could draw sketches up there could make good money. "So I get up there, and there was this guy doing it. And he could draw
fast. He told me there was no money in it up there. And like a fool, I
believed him," DuBois said. "I headed back to California."
It was there, by sheer luck, he ran into the man's old girlfriend. "She filled me in, told me the lie. I went right back."
For years, he was a popular fixture in the town. OK, the cops did run him
off in those early days. They came to love him, though, after only a few
weeks.
After working for a time outside a local bar, the owner there offered him a
small shop nearby. "Next thing I know," Dubois said, "I have three shops up
there and a million bucks' worth of inventory. And then the dam broke, and I
lost it all."
He returned to Five Points in the weeks following the Lawn Lake
flood, believing there was good talent in the Denver neighborhood - young
people just in need of a little instruction, as he had needed. He still runs workshops in the neighborhood.
Every piece of artwork now sits less than a foot away from DuBois' chair
and the brightly painted, steel 1950s-era TV-dinner stand that now serves as
his palette.
Jess Dubois'
Gallery is located at 157 Elkhorn Ave Suite #5 Estes Park, CO 80517
and 2823 Welton Street Denver, 80205
720-422-7569
