A native of Concord, NH, Jason Bombaci spent his youth exploring New Hampshire’s mountains, rivers, and rocky streams. His interest in the study of art was sparked at a very young age. Bombaci began a private study of art at age nine in Marblehead, MA and by high school was studying under Estelle Smith in Manchester, NH. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program and received a Masters of Fine Art from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. He has also studied landscape painting and art history in Italy through the University of New Hampshire in Italy program. Bombaci, 38, died of cancer on November 28, 2020, at his home in Rochester NH. An avid kayaker and fisherman, Bombaci spent a lot of time on the water and these activities seem to recur as a theme in some of his work. When asked if people ever misinterpret his work, he replied, “I paint what I paint and let viewers make what they will of it.”
Viewers may recognize many local scenes from his collection of thickly-layered canvases which use a broad palette of colors to capture the play of light so handily. “I have been concentrating mostly on the landscape as a context to further explore my painting experience. I work mostly en plein air around Great Bay and the Seacoast.” Bombaci said he liked to “build an image abstractly, focusing on mixing and laying down marks of pure color.” As the colors come together and meet, an image starts to emerge. This way of working builds what he calls “an active surface” which he would work over repeatedly before arriving at the final image.
