The visual world is incredible to me.  It is a banquet of beauty, pattern and structure.  Everything is worth painting!  I love to portray things we take for granted or don’t notice; or things rarely if ever seen.  I want to the viewer to look at my paintings and appreciate just how wonderful it is to see.

I have always dreamt of being an artist.  I’ve been painting and drawing for about 30 years in all the traditional media, doing works ranging in size from miniature panels to large-scale murals.  My inspirations are Rembrandt, Van Eyck, Warhol, Oldenburg and Bierstadt, to name but a few.  I love both Pop Art and the Northern Renaissance (not necessarily in that order).  So, as you might guess, my “style” is hard to categorize because I do a wide variety of subjects and suit my approach to each one.  I range between realism and expressionism.  But, some common denominators always present in my works are color, contrast and luminosity.

I find that “switching up” styles and subjects keeps me fresh and inspired with a simple love for the visual experience.  My favorite subjects are wild and domestic animals, still lifes, landscapes, mythology, military aviation and marine life. One of my other passions is Food Art.  It is exactly what it sounds like!  Painting food is a lot of fun.  It's a very academic subject - nothing profound necessarily - so it's a great way for an artist to take a breather from heavier pursuits.  My favorite foods to paint are fruits, pastries and PIZZA!  I'll be selling quite a bit of food art here, alongside other things, so keep an eye out! 

I earned a BFA in Fine Art from Valdosta State University while I was stationed in south Georgia with the U.S. Air Force.  In the working world, I used my artistic skills in audiovisual production and documentary photography, and in the realm of print communications as well.  I’ve done much volunteer work on plays and stage productions.

Thanks for taking the time to review my info!  Jonathan Hartley