JD Miller

Early life

Miller was born in San Diego, California, in 1953, and moved to Texas as a child, where he spent his early years studying guitar, trumpet, and piano. By the time he finished his undergraduate career at the University of North Texas, Miller was a flourishing studio musician and had founded Inside Track Studios, a music syndication studio with clients in 28 states. He continued on to graduate school to study sculpture and ceramics at Texas Woman’s University, before officially beginning his professional painting career in 1998.

Influences

Besides the foundation his previous artistic mediums provided, Miller’s visual style was heavily influenced by the works of cartoon masters Walt Disney and Walter Lantz, and by the art of the Impressionist and Expressionist painters. From the cartoonists, he took vibrant colors and deft lines, and from the Impressionists, their representations of the entire envelope of light, the things they felt, and the way a scene surrounded them.

Contemporary practice

Miller's technique is largely based on his life experiences, and he uses oil painting to illustrate the scenes and thoughts, allowing others to experience the event in their own way. He has deemed this concept Reflectionism which has been compared to the shift to Impressionism in 19th Century France and attempts to express these feelings through oil painting. "I started studying very traditionally," says Miller of his initial training as an artist. He focused on perfecting the techniques of the master oil painters, and later began merging techniques and mediums as his artistic vision took shape. His style is labeled as "3D", due to thick impasto strokes, sculpting the oil paint to give a painting texture resulting in a total three-dimensional effect, that has been called "transcendental". This style of oil painting combines both aspect of painting, as well sculpture, as the oil paint must be sculpted to give it a 3D appearance. Due to the sculpting effect of this art style, Miller uses large amounts of paint. He uses Winsor & Newton brand oil paint. Miller's 3-D technique of oil painting acts as a hallmark of Reflectionism. Reflectionism is an artistic school based on the Law of Attraction; it emphasizes that whatever energies one puts out into the universe are ultimately reflected back to them. For Miller, this philosophy of art is grounded in his spiritual associations with Asian mindfulness and meditation practices. His art reflects joy, love, and gratitude. His technique is a seamless combination of dynamic contours, light play, and positive energy that produces the powerful paintings he is best known for.

Awards and achievements

Among his achievements and honors, JD Miller received the 2007 Rising Star Award by Fashion Group International. JD Miller received the Dallas Jesuit Museum's Artist of the Year Award in 2009, and was the Official Artist for the 40th Anniversary of Shakespeare Dallas. In 2013, JD Miller was the official fine art provider for the Hampton Classic Horse Show. In 2013, JD Miller's artwork was selected to be displayed in the lobby of the modernist Patriot Tower, as part of a $100 million renovation.

JD Miller has participated in the following art fairs across the country: Miami International Art Fair 2013, Art Palm Beach 2014, Houston Fine Art Fair 2014, Art Southampton 2014, Art Aspen 2014, Concept 2014, and Art Palm Beach 2015.

Charity work

Miller has helped raise funds for several foundations including the Dallas Children's Theater, Aidmatrix Digital Ball, Yellowstone Park Foundation, schools, the Cattle Baron's Ball benefiting the American Cancer Society and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Current

Miller is represented by Samuel Lynne Galleries located in the heart of the Dallas Design District, which was founded in 2008, and by Premium Modern Art in Germany. Miller is represented in the Jesuit Dallas Museum and Meadows Museum - SMU University Art Collection, both in Dallas, Texas. He is represented in numerous galleries and corporate collections throughout the United States, and involves himself with educational and charitable organizations. He has received the Dallas Jesuit Museum’s 2009 Artist of the Year Award, the Fashion Group International 2008 Rising Star Award, and the distinction of being the Official Artist for the 40th Anniversary of Shakespeare Dallas. Currently based in Dallas, Texas, Miller’s extensive travels throughout the U.S. continue to influence his subject matter and style – from Impressionist landscapes to abstract expressions of the spirit.

“I call myself a Reflectionist artist because I believe that the universe mirrors each of us in a unique way. My goal as an artist is to interpret that phenomenon, and my art is a multidimensional reflection of life and the way I perceive the world.” -JD Miller