Alhaitham Jassar

Born in Milwaukee to a semi-artistic family (his father's uncle was a lime-stone sculptor), Alhaitham Jassar (AKA AJ) came to this world with a colored pencil in his hand. His father, an engineer, noticed this fact and encouraged little AJ by providing him with a ton of crayons, colored pencils, and paper. Three decades later, we see AJ still attached to the drawing board, creating art in many forms, genres and mediums.
AJ's work is mainly in digital media (illustration) for children's books, concept art, caricatures, book illustrations and cover art. However, AJ also works with traditional media. His media of choice being oil, acrylic, and sometimes charcoal.
You will notice that the images are realistic, yet stylized, to magnify certain emotions and moods you'd feel if you were physically there. His inspiration comes, mostly, from Renaissance era paintings, as well as dutch landscapes from the Golden Era (16-17th centuries).

His journey is far from finished, and his experimentation and learning are never ending.

- Focus on Nature XIV
December 3, 2016 through April 9
the New York State Museum and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/fon