Jay Lincoln, the local artist whose vibrant and dynamic paintings and caricatures decorated the city’s bars and coffee shops, has died at age 60. He posted on Facebook about his prostate cancer diagnosis in early 2025.
Lincoln worked in caricature, presenting faces with exaggerated features that brimmed with motion. He painted local fixtures and celebrities, especially well-known pop-culture figures like Jack White, The Velvet Underground, David Byrne and characters from “Twin Peaks” and “Saturday Night Live.”
His art is on display at coffee shops around town like Cafe Sasso and Java’s Cafe. Jessica Stroud, owner of Cafe Sasso, said it represents a time and place in the local arts community.
“His work is extremely important to a certain counterculture in Rochester, most notably in the early 2000s alternative coffee shop and bar scene,” she wrote to CITY. “His dry wit and gentle demeanor were an ephemeral fixture of a time and place that was really special.”
In particular, Lincoln’s art was inseparable from Lux Lounge, the South Wedge alternative institution. In 2011, he painted the colorful mural that adorns the side of the bar featuring 10 sunflowers blooming with expressive faces.
Lincoln was a regular at Lux since its opening 24 years ago, said owner Karrie Laughton. He could be found sketching people at the bar or coming up with ideas for showcasing art.
“People are just gut-wrenched by this loss,” she said. “You literally could just sit down and just chill out with Jay Lincoln.”
He was also a staple in the lives of its faithful patrons, some of whom he invited over to watch Buffalo Bills games or have potlucks.
“I’ve never heard anyone say anything bad about Jay Lincoln because there’s just nothing bad to say,” Laughton said. “He was just good and talented and kind and sweet and funny and goofy and creative. Just an all-around beautiful person.”
Lincoln’s sunflower mural survived a fire that damaged the Lux building in June. Laughton said it will soon feature a commemorative plaque in Lincoln’s honor.
The Rochester creative community, often centered at Lux, was likewise a focal point for much of Lincoln’s work. He spent 14 months creating a deck of 78 tarot cards bearing the images of many folks in his orbit, fittingly called the RochesTarot, which was unveiled in 2016.
Among the familiar faces were Laughton and Stroud as well as Alia Healy Cross, who called Lincoln her “Lux buddy” during that time and someone she played chess with.
“He was chill and gentle, kind of soft spoken, a fantastic artist,” Cross said.
She recalled asking Lincoln which cards in the deck were left and accepting the Three of Swords, which represents heartbreak, turmoil and sorrow, because she wanted to be part of the project.
“I think that he did a great job with art teaching and this rich, full life that we’re gonna remember,” Cross said, “and we’re gonna see him in his cards.”
Lincoln also taught caricature for years in the Rochester Institute of Technology’s illustration program, focusing on heads, hands and facial expressions. Chad Grohman, a colleague who also attended graduate school with Lincoln, called him a gifted artist whose storytelling through art was second to none.
“The poses and the distortions were all part of storytelling,” Grohman said. “The way that he arranged his lesson plans and his familiarity with the human structure and the face, being a character artist himself, was really important to our program.”
Even as a student, Grohman said Lincoln’s creative drive was clear.
“We’d do our assignments and we’d be up all night drawing. That guy could jam out work like crazy,” Grohman said. “It was always good and very ambitious artistically. It was fun to be in class with Jay.”
Lincoln published a collection of his work, “Jay Lincoln’s Art Book,” earlier this year.
In 2018, he told CITY about how he maintains a creative practice during Rochester’s brutal winter months.
“I’ve gone on a few walkabouts with my camera in search of winter’s beauty,” Lincoln said. “They were primarily black and white photos, which brought into focus the harshness of winter we survive every year … The Lamberton Conservatory is a great salvation from the cold for me. I’ve done a few pen and ink watercolors there. It’s a very peaceful and meditative place to sit and I lose track of time drawing and painting the wonders of plant life.”
Lux will host an informal celebration of Jay Lincoln’s life on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. at Star Alley Park (662 South Ave.), near the sunflower mural he painted. A larger event is planned once Lux reopens.
