By DeAnn Lubell
Photo Credit: All photos of art and profile shot by Snake Jagger
Snake Jagger’s surrealistic artwork is recognized internationally. His uncanny ability to juxtapose unrelated images into a vibrant desert landscape draws one inside an otherworld of fantasy. He will even go as far as to incorporate everyday objects into a vivid moon setting.
Some have said that Snake’s landscapes are too pristine, too perfect. However, others insist that this vividness is their appeal. His paintings allow us to share his comical sense of humor. There is no argument, though, that his curious art is most definitely entertaining.
Snake lives in the California high desert on a rugged piece of property he lovingly designed pebble by pebble, rock by rock, cacti by cacti to create a magical place of boulder lined paths, bridges, and viewing platforms where one can relax and enjoy a stunning sunset. It is this beautiful, raw desert location that inspires his creativity.
When Snake was about six or seven-years-old, he observed his artistic parents individually painting and that flipped a switch in his head. From that point on he never stopped drawing and working on various mediums of art. Therefore, he is basically self-taught. He was not only inspired by his parents, but by Saturday morning cartoons and anything Disney.
“My biggest inspiration happened early on in my teen years, when I was introduced to an artist named Noble Richardson,” said Snake. “His incredible desert landscapes with very bright colors and odd shaped canvases were the biggest for me developing my own unique ‘style’ of painting the desert. Other well-known artists who inspired me and kept me determined to develop my visions were Peter Max, Thomas Hart Benton, and surrealist Rene Magritte, who’s surrealistic images were the main inspiration for my ‘whimsical surrealism’ that I employ in my desert scenes.”
