This last Saturday, my husband & I walked through the Canton Street Antique Market in historic downtown Roswell, GA. Imagine my surprise to come across an artist painting in a booth. This is how I found Jeff Kerns.

Jeff Kerns at work

It is the awesome responsibility of an artist to create — and to be able to do this under the watchful and critical eye of a roving public would undo the efforts of many of us. And yet, here Jeff sat, undisturbed under my watchful gaze, intent on the portrait to which he was lending his magical talent.

And talent he has in great supply. He sketches pencil drawings but is equally masterful in pastels and oil paintings. I think his greatest work lies in his ability to understand white. White is tricky — to the uninitiated, white is not just white — it is full of greys, blues, beiges, purples. And when you can find someone that can understand its every nuance, it can be quite remarkable. It think that that is why the white pit bull portrait struck me as my favorite.

Jeff Kerns portrait of a pit bull

My second favorite was a portrait of a woman kneeling, wrapped in white sheeting and peering through white curtains. You can even see the silk sheen of the sheet compared to the voile of the curtains — and know that he has conveyed texture.

Jeff Kerns portrait of woman

Roswell lies in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the talent of our metropolis lies only within the bounds of its perimeter. There are wonderful artists just like Jeff Kerns waiting to be discovered.