Ja’ Licia Gainer

Artist name: Ja’ Licia Gainer

Medium work with: painting (oil, acrylic, and watercolor)

Artist Bio: Ja’ Licia Gainer was born in (Broken Arrow) Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gainer and her family moved to Columbia, Missouri in her early childhood and has lived here ever since. Gainer attended University of Missouri in Columbia, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Art History. Gainer is currently in graduate school for Master of Arts in Visual Studies and is in the teacher assistant/instructor position at the University of Missouri. Outside of academic studies, Gainer is an avid painter, having her works in local galleries and exhibitions in the past years including the Columbia Art League, The Shops at Sharp End, the annual Boone County Art Show, and Orr Street Studios. 

Artist Statement: 

I focus on oil medium, but in recent time also acrylic and watercolor through combining palette knife technique texture and vibrant colors. I like to illustrate an array of silhouettes from nature to the human form, leaving the trials and experimentation to develop ideas of what surrounds me on canvases. I seek to visualize everyday life, material culture of past & present, human form & hair, and nature cohesion with African American people in my perspective. I incorporate moments in art history that focus on African and African American subjects in an elevated representation into my art form.