He earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from University of Texas at Austin.  The training he received in architectural illustration techniques, casein, gauche and watercolor, enabled him to pay for his college education by working as a free lance illustrator.  This the first step toward his future as a fine artist.

     Jerral became a corporate architect in Houston, Texas working on major high-rise, hotel and shopping center projects.  Later, he ran his own design and graphics firm principally serving the yachting community of the Galveston Bay area.

     In 1988, he relocated to Taos, New Mexico, where he concentrated his efforts on studying the oil painting techniques of the great New Mexico impressionist masters.   Living in the mountains of New Mexico contributed to his passion for painting Southwest and mountain landscapes and rivers.  Also, while living in New Mexico, he sold his paintings in galleries and was a member of the Taos Society of Artists, Santa Fe Society of Artists, Santa Fe Artists’ League and Denver Art Student’s League.

     Over the past few years, Jerral has had the privilege of being in demand as a teacher and has  developed a following of students who share his passion for studying the subjects of color theory,  composition and structure. 

     During the years 1999 through 2002, he focused on entering competitions and his works received many regional, national and best of show awards, including the H.K.Holbein Merit Award for Excellence in Art, the Winsor Newton Award and the Outdoor Painter’s Society Plein Air Award.

     His work has been published in Southwest Art Magazine, Art Gallery International Magazine, Southwind Magazine and Dallas Bar Association’s Headnotes. 

     He is a member of the New York Salmagundi Club and numerous other art associations and outdoor paint groups.
 

     Jerral's work is currently represented and sold in galleries and regional and national juried exhibitions and is internationally collected for both private and corporate collections.

     For the past couple of years Jerral has participated in the Annual Castles and Clans group exhibition at Lochvale Fine Art.  He travels to Scotland each year to paint with a group of artists from all over the United States, England and Scotland.

     “The goal of my works is to produce an image that pulls the viewer’s mind into the painting, holding it there, generating a positive and uplifting emotional response.  The two most reached for emotional experiences being a sense of peacefulness and delightful discovery.”