On December 3, 1996, Jacob Test was introduced to the wide world of art at birth. Born to an art professor at Panhandle State University and an English teacher at Guymon Junior High School, he spent many of his early years running the halls of the art department his dad had built. During his first four years of life, his babysitter, Carol Ann Cole, also an employee of Panhandle State, maintained an office just adjacent to the art department.

Jacob’s closeness to the many creative minds in the art department allowed him to be heavily influenced artistically at this young age. After he began school, his focus recentered on athletics due to his grandfather, Jack Leonard Test, hosting an informal all-sports camp at Jack’s Upholstery, where his “after school care” took place. 

Athletics were everything until Jacob reached college, where he attended none other than Panhandle State University, and the art department rekindled his creativity. Though art had nothing to do with his declared major, he always managed to find a reason to take a ceramics or sculpture class, keeping an artistic interest alive.

While in college, Jacob found employment through ranching, landscaping and carpentry, placing his artistic capabilities on hold. After graduating with a degree in biology in 2020, he became the art teacher at Hooker Public Schools, teaching eighth through twelfth graders, while also assisting on the football and baseball fields during the Covid epidemic. His artistic capabilities began to flourish as he shared his knowledge of the arts with his students. After teaching art and coaching for five years, Jacob stepped fully into the artistic world. He creates wildlife images with charcoal and acrylic that appear to leap from his canvases.