About Gerhard Jakobeit

Gerhard Jakobeit was born and raised in Germany.

WHEN HE WAS 15 YEARS OLD HE PRODUCED DOZENS OF OIL PAINTINGS - BOATS ON THE SHORE, DUCKS FLYING OVER THE LAKE… VERY CONSERVATIVE PICTURES – LANDSCAPING MOTIVES. HIS PARENTS HAD PAINTINGS ON ALL THE WALLS IN THEIR HOME – AN OLD SCHOOL HOUSE IN A LITTLE VILLAGE IN NORTHERN GERMANY CLOSE TO THE NORTH-SEA. MANY FRIENDS OF HIS PARENTS WERE SO EXCITED ABOUT THESE OIL PAINTINGS THAT GERHARD WAS VERY BUSY AND HE MADE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR HIS DRIVER’S LICENSE AND SAVED MONEY FOR COLLEGE.

GERHARD’S DREAM WAS TO STUDY ARTS IN BERLIN, BUT HIS PARENTS DIDN’T LIKE THIS IDEA AND CONVINCED HIM TOGETHER WITH HIS TEACHER AT THE HIGH SCHOOL TO STUDY ARCHITECTURE.

IN HIS SPARE TIMES AS AN ARCHTECT HE STARTED ABSTRACT PAINTINGS AND FOUND ALWAYS SOMETHING IN THE SURROUNDING NATURE TO IMPLEMENT IN HIS ART WORKS. WHEN LIVING IN VERMONT SINCE 1985 HE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY ARTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT – ONLY IN THE EVENINGS – BUT IT WAS VERY EXCITING AND MOTIVATING FOR HIM – EVEN IF HE DID THIS ONLY FOR A SHORT TIME.

BETWEEN 1994 AND 2000 WHEN HE WAS TRAVELING BETWEEN THE US AND GERMANY – WORKING AS AN ARCHITECT IN THE EAST PART OF THE REUNITED GERMANY AFTER THE WALL WAS TEARED DOWN - HE WAS VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN ACTIVITIES AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS IN LEIPZIG WITH MANY FAMOUS ARTISTS.
AFTER HIS CAREER AS AN INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECT HE RETIRED IN 2004 AND STARTED WORKING AS A REALTOR IN FLORIDA. CAPTIVA ISLAND BECAME ONE OF HIS FAVORITE SPOTS TO RELAX AND ENJOY THE TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT. HE IS A FAN OF THE LATE ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG THROUGH MANY EVENTS AT THE RAUSCHENBERG FOUNDATION ON THE ISLAND.

MANY OF HIS CUSTOMERS FROM THE REALTOR BUSINESS WWW.JAKOBEIT.COM HAVE BUILT NEW HOMES AND WERE LOOKING FOR AN INTERIOR DESIGNER SUPPORTING THEM WITH PAINTINGS AND DECORATIONS. GERHARD REALIZED SOON THAT HE COULD HELP THEM WITH HIS VERY SPECIAL ARTWORK.

HIS PAINTINGS ARE BASED ON HIS LOVE FOR THE BEAUTIFUL TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT WHICH HE SUPPORTS TO PROTECT. HE IS INSPIRED BY FLORIDA’S NATURE, THE BLUE AND TURQUOISE WATERS, COLORFUL SKIES AND HIS ARTWORKS ARE REFLECTIONS OF THESE ELEMENTS. GERHARD LIKES TO WORK WITH MIXED MEDIA, ACRYLIC AND OIL ON CANVAS - ALWAYS OPEN AND CURIOUS FOR NEW IDEAS AND EXPERIMENTS.