About

b. 1960

Jack Saylor received his degree in painting from Barton College in 1983. Upon graduating he moved to Barcelona, Spain and then later to Florence, Italy where he began his pursuits as an artist while also working as a product designer for Sarreid, Ltd., a U.S. based home furnishings importer. Over the next 10 years Jack would travel back and forth between Europe and the U.S. working side by side with artists and artisans in their centuries old studios and workshops throughout Spain and Italy. During this time Jack became very knowledgeable in old world studio practices involving numerous art forms and materials utilized in the creation of the products he was designing while at the same time continuing to further develop his painting skills. Living in Europe amongst some of the greatest art ever created afforded Jack the opportunity to study intensely the art of Western and Northern Europe particularly the Italian Renaissance and Dutch 17th Century painting.

The sea, a lifelong passion of Jack’s would become his primary source of inspiration and would lead to two lengthy sojourns to explore and discover the unique artistic direction he was beginning to develop. He embarked on an 8 month trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands and later spent a year in the small coastal town of Estepona on the Costa del Sol in Spain. After returning from Spain and yearning to work and reside by the shore that was most familiar to him since childhood, Jack moved to the coast of N.C. where he has remained ever since. His diverse artistic experiences both here and abroad has allowed Jack’s unique style of works inspired by the sea to emerge.

A particular highlight for Jack came in 2007 when he worked with the State of North Carolina to create a large still life painting depicting artifacts recovered from the pirate Blackbeard’s flagship the “Queen Anne’s Revenge”, the only painting of its kind ever created.

In 2023 Jack was included in the publication The Art of the State, a book written and curated by Liza Roberts featuring the most notable artists working in North Carolina today.

The artwork of Jack Saylor is extensively held in corporate and private collections throughout the country.