A painter since early childhood, Jerry Ross attended the Art Institute of Buffalo in Buffalo, New York , the University of Buffalo, and the University of Oregon. In Italy, his work has been exhibited in Milan, Rome, Bologna, and Florence. In The United States, he has shown work in Oregon and Nevada. In 2006, he originated the "American Verismo" movement while teaching at the Maude Kerns Art Center in Eugene. According to his statement:
"I have a strong interest in the "poetica del vero" schools of painting, mostly derived from Italian influences. This can be translated as "the poetry of life or truth" and is associated with working directly from nature as in plein air painting, namely an appreciation of the oil sketch and alla prima (a direct attack) mode of painting which I apply not only to landscape but also to portraiture and figurative work."