What fascinates me about painting outdoors is how a scene changes with the time of day, the seasons, and the weather. There is an urge within me to capture these fleeting moments. The marks I put down in paint become a record of a feeling, a place, and a piece of time.
Growing up in the small town of Conrad, Iowa, I developed a connection to rural landscapes that continues to influence my work today. I am drawn to fields, farms, roads, and the everyday landscape.
Over time, I have become less interested in describing everything I see and more interested in what is essential. I value direct marks, simplification, and even imperfection—evidence of the human hand and of the moment in which a painting was made.
Jason Witte is an artist whose paintings have sold throughout the U.S. and garnered recognition in plein aire competitions. He is also a teacher of youth with disabilities and the father of 3, active in chess, art, music, and Scouts. Witte found art to be a refuge during a difficult childhood and describes it as "a language of escape."
