ARTIST STATEMENT

“This painting depicts the symbiotic relationship of two native Michigan birds. The red-bellied woodpecker can be found in Michigan all year and produces holes for both nesting in the spring and roosting in the winter. In this case, it’s depicted roosting in a white oak tree. The Eastern bluebird migrates back to Michigan in the spring and is depicted creating a nest in the mold cavity that the woodpecker has left behind. The mural elevates a relationship in the local natural world that typically goes unnoticed. Passage of time was also a theme within the criteria of the building owner, touched on through the passing of the seasons and the illustration of birds in motion. It’s really about taking a simple occurrence between two small creatures and blowing it up into a large dynamic painting. It may serve as a small educational experience for some viewers or just a formal graphic art experience for others.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jacob Dwyer is no stranger to the A2AC, having assisted Jesse Kassel with his Pretzel Bell mural (116 E Liberty) in 2019. His A2AC Murals wall is none other than the side of the Phoenix West building, within eyeshot of both Midnight Olive and Anne Lewis’ murals from last year.

“I blend representation, abstraction, and hand lettering in my painting practice. These disciplines are applied in murals, signs, and illustrations. I’m currently focusing on regional natural histories as the subject of my murals and studio practice.”

Jacob Dwyer grew up in Eagan, MN. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, then transferred to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where he received a BFA with a combined major in Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture in 2009. Over the next seven years in Minneapolis, he co-operated a gallery called They Won’t Find Us Here, began painting murals, and worked in a private studio building large canvases and custom painting substrates. He relocated to Detroit, MI, in 2016 after visiting the city several times in previous years. In Detroit, his practice has transformed to focus on large-scale murals, sign painting, and decorative painting in historic restorations.