Jerry McLaughlin lives and paints in the high desert of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. His works reflect the architecture, surfaces, light, and shadow of his environment. His process is architectural, physical, and deeply grounded in materiality, incorporating beeswax, paint, pigments, and ash, along with reclaimed wood, tar, shingles, and other materials of construction and demolition.

Poetry plays a central role in his practice. Influenced by writers such as Federico García Lorca, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Constantine Cavafy, McLaughlin translates poetic mood and sensitivity into palette, structure, shape, and surface.

Though McLaughlin is a full-time artist, he originally trained as a pediatric critical care physician. He is an internationally recognized expert in cold wax medium. In 2017, he co-authored Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations, the first comprehensive book on the subject, which received a 2018 International Independent Publisher Gold Medal and an International Book Award. His work is held in private and institutional collections in the U.S. and abroad, including the Ballinglen Museum of Art (Ireland), the Encaustic Art Museum (New Mexico), and the Texas A&M permanent collection. He is represented by Avivson Gallery (London), HG Contemporary (New York), and Casa Quieta (Mexico City).