Before painting, Abstract Artist Jerry Hardesty was singing... he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in voice performance. Having a flair for the dramatic, Jerry now bills himself as a performance painter. Although he doesn't sing while painting, he eagerly answers questions and explains his creative process. Needless to say, music influences his work.

The walls in Jerry's Spare Room Studio are now speckled with paint. When his wife asked "how," he gave her a demo of his palette knife technique. Jerry's favorite tool though is a notched trowel he found on a trip to Home Depot. He applies impasto-thick acrylic and oil with various found tools as he explores texture and color – even collage and cement.

Kick up your heels as you learn to tango and view Jerry's work at DF Dance Studio. Jerry is also presently included in the annual fundraiser, "300 Plates," at Art Access in Salt Lake City. In April, he exhibited new works at House Gallery in Salt Lake City in a show he called "Resonance." He included in this show a series of 10x10 mixed media pieces that patrons found most appealing. Jerry has previously exhibited at Art at the Main Gallery and other venues throughout the City.

Jerry's work is owned by collectors not only in Utah, but also Alabama, California, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Montana, and Rhode Island. Even though he has studied with several local artists, he is self-taught with much of his growth from the emulation of favorite artists.

Jerry was born in Osawatomie, Kansas. After living in Missouri, Louisiana, and Nebraska, he was anxious to go West. Not only did he settle between the snowy mountains surrounding Salt Lake City, but he also fulfilled a bucket-list item by skiing those mountains.