Jerald Clinton Whitsett (1935-2011) American, Watercolor on Paper. Signed and dated 2006 bottom right. 

Overall: 16 X 20 in. 

Sight: 9 X 13 in. 

#3920 . 

Jerald Clinton Whitsett (also known as JC Whitsett) was born on November 2nd, 1935 in Grants Pass, Oregon. His father, Othel, was a Methodist preacher who moved the family to Japan in 1946 to help General MacArthur’s call for missionaries to help convert the post-War populace. Having little success, the family returned to Oregon and settled in Dimmick in 1950. Nevertheless, this brief period in Japan had a lasting impact on Jerald, who began to experiment with delicate watercolors and calligraphy as a child and continued it as a hobby back in the United States. He joined the US Navy in 1953, serving for just one month in Korea before returning to Oregon, where he enrolled in Oregon State University and obtained a major in geology. He pursued a Masters in Business and worked for U.S. Oil & Refining Company until the mid 1970s, when he met and married his wife Joan. An artist, she encouraged Jerald to pursue his art full time, and he left his career in 1980 to do so, with his work beginning to appear in local galleries and arts magazines in the Pacific Northwest. He became co-owner of the Art and Soul Gallery in Ashland, Oregon in 1990, and occasionally volunteered painting sets for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He and his wife both became lifetime members of the Watercolor Society of Oregon, and frequently exhibited throughout Oregon and Washington. On March 19th, 2011, Jerald died while undergoing chemotherapy for esophageal cancer. His pieces are sought by collectors for their vivid colors, and reflect his self-taught nature, as well as the influence of the Japanese landscapes and art he was introduced to in his youth.