Jack White’s paintings now hang in the Smithsonian and
several other museums. His portraits include such notables as President Lyndon
Johnson, Byron Nelson, Ray Kroc and Tom Landry.
Jack White is a sixth generation Texan. Great Grandson of
famous Texas Ranger, Ben McGee. Great, great, great Grandson of Dillard Cooper
one of the few men to escape the Goliad Massacre. His Great Grandmother was the
first woman doctor in the newly formed Republic of Texas. Raised on a working
West Texas ranch, with desires of becoming a professional rodeo cowboy, he was
asked to play college football. A four-sport college athlete in high school and
two sport athlete in college. Jack's opportunity to play professional baseball
and sign a professional contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers was prevented
because of a knee injury playing high school football.
"Art was always in the back of my mind, but growing up
in such a macho world, I thought painting was for ladies and the
effeminate," says the 6' 1", 200 pound Texan. The seed to paint
continued to germinate inside until the fall of 1969. Visiting an art gallery
for the first time, he came away with the feeling he could do what he saw.
Selling his first piece to a couple from Peru, on Valentine’s Day 1970 for $10,
launched a career that would see him at the top in less than a decade. By the
end of the millennium he was a master oil painter.
In 1976, he was named the Official Artist of Texas and the
following year a street was named after him. Jack White was the first non-law
enforcement person to be named an honorary Texas Ranger and given a
life-membership into the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame. September 13, 2006 Texas
Governor Rick Perry commissioned Jack White as an honoree Admiral in the Texas
Navy. This honor is bestowed on only a handful of people.
Jack White was recognized as one of the premier portrait
painters in the world when he put his career on hold due to a freak accident.
Two car thieves fleeing the police in a stolen vehicle slammed into Mr. White's
car, severely injuring his painting arm and shoulder. Always positive, he
turned his creative energy into writing, accepting the challenge to write a
series of art marketing books. His eight books have become a respected road map
for those in the art world. The number is great who give Mr. White credit for
their success, he has helped hundreds of artists all over the world.