An American Artist in France
by Jerri Bram and Eydie Scher
The story begins in Cross Plains, Wisconsin in the 1940's, and moves on to Madison in the early 60's and then to France-- Montpellier, Paris, Bordeaux and the Languedoc region of southern France, where she resides much of the year. Her husband, my brother, was a scientist. When he was offered a post-doctoral position with the French National Center for Scientific Research, they left the states for Montpellier. He spoke no French but that didn't stop him from learning the language with the help of his wife. However, he always kept his New York accent. Imagine speaking the beautiful French language with a New York twang?
This column is about my co-author and her fantastic ability to capture on canvas what the rest of us just see.
It hangs in our dinette. She sent it directly from Paris and it arrived in perfect shape here in Sparks, all ready for framing. The French market place is exquisitely captured on the canvas. Everyone who sees it asks about the artist and where we got it. Then there's the painting of our son at about the age of 1 1/2. He was wearing the blue sweater that my mom had knitted for him. In one of our bedrooms, there are the 3 caricatures of our kids. You can still see the resemblance today. She captures these things effortlessly.
I have known Jerri for a long time. We first met in Madison, Wisconsin even before she married my brother. Over the years, I've seen her beautiful paintings and black and white photographs. But there is still a lot that I've learned by doing this story. So here is a portrait of a painter.
Jerri creating a work of art
Q: When did you first realize you had this talent?
Jerri: I was on the floor drawing when very tiny, and couldn't stop. My mom noticed it right away. She encouraged me by buying crayons and pencils though we had very little money.
In Elementary School, the nuns were very aware of my drawing skills and I was able to get out of class work by doing all the artwork in the classroom. It was a great honor for me. I was a very tiny, frail child, shy, nervous--and always the last to be chosen for sporting matches at recess time. To this day I hate sports, probably because of that. But being first in classwork and art made up for it.
When I started to win coloring contests, Mother made sure I entered them all. The biggest thrill was winning that Bugs Bunny coloring contest when I was 12 and the Madison newspaper reporter from the Capital Times came to our village and took my picture. With that $10, I was able to buy a Kodak box camera and began photography. I was also pleased to win a bicycle at 13, as my parents didn't have money to buy a bike with 5 girls to raise.
A well-to-do lady from the village gave me my first commission at around age 13. I can't remember what I drew, but she paid me by offering a beautiful goldplated bracelet, which I kept for many years.
Q: What are some of the portraits you remember the best?
Jerri: I got several commissions near the end of high school and did portraits of John F. Kennedy when he was a young senator. When he was elected President, I was commissioned by the Cross Plains Post Office to do his portrait in ink, and it hung there for many years. I also did portraits of some famous movie stars, sent them to their studios and thus got their signatures.
Q: Did you study painting in school?
Jerri: Yes. I had my first real courses in high school with an excellent teacher. I also begged my parents to enroll me in a commercial art correspondence course, very expensive and a real hardship for them, but they did it. I studied art in college as well.
I remain persuaded that when a child has a gift, they will want to draw and paint early on no matter what the socioeconomic or cultural conditions. I don't think you can instill talent into someone.
Jerri's favorite and mine - hanging in our home
Q: How do you begin a painting?
Jerri: I now paint mostly from photos because I prefer quietly working in the studio, but first I squint to visualize the scene before snapping away with a digital camera. The photos are just a starting point--the finished painting never resembles them. Photos are fun to work with because you end up finding things in them that you didn't see with the naked eye, like a person who stands out among all the others and whom you can incorporate into your composition: for example, a woman carrying a box of fruits from the market as if they were the crown jewels or a young mother pushing a baby carriage. I like to invent stories in my head to go with the scenes, such as in the above painting. ‘Will the stocky guy and redhead lady strike up a conversation and maybe go out for a drink?’
Q: Do you draw the images first or just jump in and paint?
Jerri: I usually paint right away without making a pencil drawing first. I like the spontaneity of the brush marks. But it can also get messy.
When I was young I did portraits from real life. They appear livelier to me now than some of the portraits I've done from photos. Right now I'm into market and café scenes. But I would like to move them toward being more abstract and possibly more dynamic and suggestive.
Q: Where do you exhibit your works?
Jerri: I exhibit in restaurants, in small-town cultural centers, in municipal galleries, chapels, etc.
Q: Do you still do photographs?
Jerri: I still do some black and white work with my old Canon. I'm trying to update my collection of friends and family, whom I've photographed over the last 40 years.
Q: Are there painters who inspired you?
Jerri: A number of painters inspired me. There is Bonnard for his colors and especially the choice of composition, the intimacy of the scenes, the tablecloths, and the bathtubs. Another is Soutine, for his wildly exciting brush strokes and his way of life. Joan Mitchell and her abstract expressionism is another that I could never duplicate but find very beautiful.
Q: Do you have paintings that you absolutely hate?
Jerri: I do have a whole lot of paintings I would like to get rid of. I have lacerated a number of them just to make sure no one else picks them out of the garbage. I can get somewhat violent.
Q: Do the creative juices flow better when you are happy, sad, or angry?
Jerri: I'd say all of the above. When I was in the throes of grief, I did work with the palette knife that became a form of catharsis.
Q: About how many paintings have you done over the years?
Jerri: Over 800.
I've included some of included some of Jerri's work so you can see for yourself the kind of painter she is. If you'd like to see more, she has a Website
www. diani.fr/jbram/default.htm.
As always, comments are appreciated: eydies@aol.com