JKLongART

John Long

Blue Gate Garden & Studio

Estes Park, Colorado

As a third-generation artist, I trained as a photographer, film maker, poet, calligrapher and typesetter. In the twenty-five years since I began working intensively in the studio, I have created nearly 2000 pieces in a variety of media.

In my painting I favor spontaneous expression over planning so many of my paintings are like jazz music. I often build up multiple layers of acrylic paint; sometimes I sand and scrape the surface to reveal earlier layers. This gives the paintings a sense of geological history, like the layers of the earth revealed in the mountains — or a worn surface like an old building. I also like to explore geometric order and pattern — often contrasting that with chaotic energy. Most of my painting is done on plywood panels, though more and more I am painting on large canvases. My color palette ranges from black and gray monotone, to bold primary colors and warm pastel shades. I build my own wooden frames from poplar or alder.

My work has won awards in juried art shows and has been featured in one-person and group exhibitions.

I grew up in Flint, Michigan which was still a thriving midwest factory town when I moved away. Since then I have lived in Houston, Texas; Cleveland, Ohio; South Bend, Indiana; Washington, DC; Kabul, Afghanistan; and New Haven, Connecticut. In 2018 I answered the call of the mountains, the geography of the soul, and moved to Estes Park, Colorado.