The Paper Boy

JJ 152

There’s a good chance most readers have an example of Jerry Jeanmard’s work in their freezer: The Louisiana-born artist is the man responsible for drawing the silhouette of the young girl leading a cow that graces every pint of Blue Bell ice cream. “I worked as a graphic designer before becoming an interior designer,” says Jeanmard, who, now in his 70s, is “semi-retired” from his firm Wells Design/Jerry Jeanmard.


Now, he is having a third act, this time as a fine art collagist. “I had always loved paper. I’ve been collecting interesting paper for 50 years — craft paper, wrappers, the tags that come with your dry cleaning — and liked playing with it. Then I started making these shapes that started looking like people. I showed them to my friend [star curator] Clint Willour and that led to my the show Paper People.”

That 2014 exhibition at Moody Gallery included images of 57 separate figurative collages, each around a foot high. Jeanmard’s new exhibition, More People and More, which runs at Moody through Nov. 22, documents the developmental arc of that work, from Jeanmard’s earliest paper abstractions to the latest evolution of his “people,” which are now nearly twice as large.

“If I were presumptuous,” Jeanmard says, having since shown his work in the Hamptons and London, “I might go so far as to even call it a retrospective.”

Jeanmard says working with paper is a nice contrast to practicing interior design, which is very structured. “I know exactly what a room will look like when I finish it,” he says. “With collage, I move things around this way and that, until it feels right, until there is a person there. It’s very forgiving. Unlike in life, there’s no real way to make a mistake.”

Art+Culture
Leadership in Action: CEO Theresa Roemer Credits Mother, Mentors and Mindset for Accomplishments

How did you get to where you are today? My journey to where I am today is built on a foundation of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Every step along the way, I faced obstacles, but I approached each one with determination and a “never give up” mindset. Instead of being discouraged by challenges, I used them as opportunities to grow and improve. Consistency was key—I committed to showing up and giving my best effort every day. I also learned not to take “no” as a final answer. Instead, I saw it as a chance to push harder, adapt, and find another way forward. It’s this combination of persistence, resilience, and unwavering focus that has brought me to where I am today.

Keep Reading Show less

Christopher Salazar stars as troubled-genius chef in the Alley's 'Seared'.

ONE OF HOUSTON'S favorite theater makers — Alley Associate Artistic Director Brandon Weinbrenner — has gotten some delicious news about his latest show. The run of his Seared, a sometimes-funny and sometimes-intense tale of life in the kitchen at a suddenly hot New York restaurant by playright Theresa Rebeck, has been extended beyond its original schedule and will now be up through March 9.

Keep Reading Show less
Food+Travel

Flora Choy, Vanitha Pothuri and Blanca Beltran-Robinson

IT WAS A memorable evening for art lovers, to be sure. Connie Kwan-Wong and her independently published CKW Luxe magazine hosted an elegant event amid priceless works of art at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston.

Keep Reading Show less
Parties