More Than a Picture of a Car: The Art of Jay Koka

TorqArt: You came from a background in graphic art and marketing before devoting yourself entirely to painting. What was happening in your life and career when you realised you wanted to make that leap, and what did it take to actually do it?

JK: I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time early in my career. I watched people in the corporate environment move up the ladder and then, too frequently, move sideways and down in terms of responsibility and ranking. I was continuing in my upward travel but saw too many instances in which I didn't think I would be happy if it was me.

A merging of our company with another created a duplication in many areas of staffing. A generous package was offered and I took it, although I was told that I was not the person the top management had in mind for this. They offered me an extension on the package if I stayed for an additional 2 years under contract... I did and then I took my cash package and launched the studio.

TorqArt: Your work can move from highly detailed realism to much more expressive and impressionistic styles. How do you decide where a particular painting should sit between those two approaches?

JK: Where it's going and what message it is meant to deliver has everything to do with my approach. For example, corporate commissions tend to be more realistic. This is also mostly the case for event/poster art. Privately commissioned work is somewhere between the two but tending towards realism.

Early in my career I realized that I didn't like "pictures of cars" and eventually I would not accept a commission that was targeted that way. Work that is based on a personal idea or a concept I want to deliver leans towards the more fluid and impressionist styles. The exception to all of this is "historic" work as it tends to need some level of realism to establish its timeframe... but even here my painting style has become much more impressionist over the years.

TorqArt: When you begin a new painting, do you already have a clear destination in mind, or do you deliberately leave room for the painting to evolve as you work?

JK: While there's always some room for happy accidents and fortuitous opportunities in color and concept, I generally have a very clear vision of what the final product will look like.

TorqArt: After a career as long as yours, you've undoubtedly had paintings that didn't go the way you intended. What has a failed painting taught you that a successful one couldn't?

JK: I am unhesitant to destroy in-progress and sometimes finished work and I have done so many, many times. There are two lessons here: first, just because you have an idea formed in your head it doesn't make it a good one on execution, and second, some humility in the process is necessary and good.

TorqArt: What do people who commission a Jay Koka painting typically come to you looking for, and how do you balance their vision or memories with your own artistic interpretation of the subject?

JK: Early in my career it was "a picture of a car" ...a prospect that quickly became untenably and completely uninteresting for me. If you can do it with a camera, then it's pretty much a waste of time.

The most common request is a situation or location that has personal meaning, but quite often not even related to the car itself. I like this because the challenge in the work is to match your execution with the buyer's vision... and to accomplish this with some artistic vision and style. When there are people in the work, the challenge is increased because your interpretation of the subject's image may not align with the buyer's.

TorqArt: Ferrari features prominently throughout your work, despite the marque being one of the most frequently depicted subjects in automotive art. What continues to fascinate you about Ferrari, and how do you find something personal to say about a subject that has already been photographed and painted countless times?

JK: I may have stumbled upon Ferrari at the very beginning of my career, but its rewards were significant and continue to be in both financial terms and the resulting art itself.

I have also had relationships over the years with many well-known Ferrari people plus many, many owners, and I have been honored with significant related awards and projects. In fact, I recently completed my 19th poster for a Ferrari Club of America's Annual Meets.

My latest work "Icons" is an excellent example of the "satisfying" art approach and why I often continue to turn to Ferrari. "Icons" is an imaged moment in a clearly identifiable setting, populated by well-known people and a historically very important and famous Ferrari... I should also mention it's exceptionally beautiful.

I do lots of other cars but yes, Ferrari is central in the body of my work and why not turn to the very best to occupy your time. Just for the record, we track the number of paintings and studies completed and it is 351 to date, 117 are Ferrari themed, so about 33%.

TorqArt: Your tribute to Gilles Villeneuve for the 2022 FCA Meet at Mont-Tremblant was about much more than depicting a racing driver—it captured a particular moment in motorsport history. How does your approach change when you're telling a story through a painting, rather than simply portraying a car?

JK: I am particularly proud of this work for a number of reasons: first, I do very little Formula 1 work and second, it celebrates an exceptional Canadian driver.

"Curving" the car around a "curve" was the key moment in my developing the concept. The world is full of F1 paintings, and I didn't want to simply follow that path. As I have mentioned before, the context in which the car is depicted is very important in my work... but some sense of uniqueness or a different approach is also sought.

You don't need to be told that there are spectators as you don't need to be told that it's a racetrack. If I can present a unique point of view that still tells the story, I have succeeded.

TorqArt: As your career has evolved, has your own relationship with automotive culture changed? Are there particular eras, designers, cars or forms of automotive design that speak to you now in ways they didn't earlier in your career?

JK: It is said that hindsight is 20:20. It takes time to appreciate moments that may not have been obvious at the moment.

The "clean-ness" of European car design through the fifties into the seventies is now so much more obvious to me than it was at the time. The Austin-Healy 3000 MkII I owned in late 60's was mainly to attract girls... today however I see the beautifully smooth and clean overall design and how it was shared by many other designs of the period.

Sergio Scaglietti was a genius, and his designs have stood the test of time. Now, looking back, I can much better see and appreciate the beauty and their impact on subsequent car design.

In terms of my relationship to "cars", I have to admit that after owning well over 50 cars and an untold number of motorcycles, my interest in automotive culture continues but with a more human approach. Michael Jordan summed it up best in a story on my work in Porsche Panorama Speed Lines: "It’s life with cars, which is in a different dimension than the usual abstract depictions of the automobile."

TorqArt: You've built your career around traditional painting while automotive imagery has increasingly moved into 3D rendering, digital painting and other technologies. What do you think traditional artists and digital creators can learn from one another—and what fundamentals remain essential regardless of the medium?

JK: Regarding digital based work, let me state for the record that I am a huge tech nerd. I computerized my studio business accounting in 1989. I built my own computers into the late nineties. I registered our first domain in 1992 and immediately launched a website when most were still wondering about the "internet". I owned/ran a web development business (Webvues) for twenty years and took the Automotive Fine Arts Society magazine online. So, my comments on digital-based artwork are not without some foundation.

"Fine art" requires little: canvas, paint, brushes and an individual with vision and the very significant talent it takes to work those raw materials into an image. This can take many years and many mistakes to master.

"Digital art" on the other hand requires much less technical talent because a huge number of people were involved in the development of the software and its methodologies that are the basis for how the end result is achieved. Once the method and the manipulation of the extensive background processes are learned, the only common denominator is vision.

"Fine" artists have a background of thousands of years to draw on, they will not learn much from the digital process. AI and new reproduction processes will probably, at least initially, impose on fine art... but in the end, what do you want to hang on your wall?

TorqArt: For an artist trying to build a sustainable career in automotive art today, what do you think matters most beyond simply being able to paint or draw well?

JK: Publicity and self-promotion skills are fundamental requirements and crucial to succeed in art today (...and perhaps everything else). My marketing background was very beneficial in this. The internet has had both good and bad influences on art.

The good news is that it allows access to a very large audience with relatively little cost. The bad news is that there is no vetting, especially in social media... so even the poorest, most incompetent work can occupy the same space and time as the very best.

TorqArt: Looking back across your body of work, is there one painting that feels most representative of who you are as an artist?

JK: I think many artists would say it's the last piece they just finished...

I find it difficult to pick a single work because it often depends on the purpose or final application. Another caveat is that my style and process have changed so much over time.

My current work is very significantly different than earlier works, so I would like to suggest three... earliest, middle and current career.

Early period: "Louis' Garage" is an interesting, completely imagined concept, representing the epitome in my goauche/watercolor/ink on board works.

Middle period: "918 on Ocean" presents everything I value in a work, people and location beautifully presented in acrylic on canvas.

Current period: "Bourdonnais et Rapp" represents everything I have targeted for in my art...it captures my travel in an interesting concept. It is executed in a looser but still somewhat realistic style.

TorqArt: You've expanded beyond automotive subjects into marine and travel painting, as well as publishing. Is there still something creatively unexplored that you'd like to tackle—whether that's a subject, medium, or entirely different direction?

JK: While not completely unexplored, I find people interesting and challenging. "Young Girls in the Canyon" and "Flashing Lights" and "Hey, Nice Car!" in the early 2000's began experimentation in this area. COVID then gave me the opportunity to continue this exploration with the "Pictures of a White Dress" series of 2021. Although the work includes cars, the central theme is unmistakeable.

TorqArt: When someone encounters a Jay Koka painting decades from now, what do you hope they understand about the cars, people and automotive culture of the time in which you created it?

JK: “My interest in automotive fine art is in the context in which the automobile exists rather than the depiction of the automobile itself. The interplay of the vehicle and its environment and its human operators is to me the most worthwhile pursuit of fine art."...from my bio says it best. While cars are an important part of our culture, they exist within it... they are not the culture. If my work on view can deliver this message, I am content.

TorqArt: Thank you Jay, for taking the time to chat with us and share your story.

To explore more of Jay’s work, visit Jay Koka Studio and discover his stories about cars, people and place that he continues to tell through his art.

© 2025 - 2026 TorqArt. All rights reserved.