Blog posts tagged with ‘Jonason.’

10 questions and 10 Answers with David Jonason

 Interview by Jen Rohrig

1. Using only five words, can you describe your process?

Sketch, grid, draw, paint, glaze. That sounds boring. What about dream, sketch, curse, revise, ship?

2. Why do you do what you do?

I guess the short answer is that it gives value to my life. Most days I’m happy to go into the studio. I enjoy communicating the beauty of American west. I’m grateful that my work gives people pleasure in the intimate setting of their homes.

3. Will you describe all of the best details about your studio?

My favorite detail is the big window that looks out on my wife’s garden and the forest. My studio backs up to a state park so there’s always lots of wildlife in the yard. I put bird seed on the fence close to the window and watch the jays, woodpeckers, and towhees while I paint. I can see them but they can’t see me. 

4. Aside from a paintbrush, what tool would you be absolutely lost without?

The camera is an important tool for me. Since I don’t live in the Southwest, I have to collect as much reference as I can while on short jaunts to Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. I prefer sketching, but can shoot 100 photos of the Vermillion Cliffs in the same time it takes me to do one or two pencil roughs.

5. You and I share a love for Deco style, in fact, Tamara de Lempicka has always been a favorite artist of mine- who is your favorite Deco artist, designer or architect?

I’m crazy about Lempicka. I’d love to see what she would do with a landscape. Besides all the usual suspects like Cassandre and Dupas, I’m a big fan of travel posters from the 30s and 40s. Architects from the 30s like William Kesling and Richard Neutra have been an influence on me as well. It has something to do with the way they dealt with simple volumes of space. When you think about it, that’s all rock forms of the Southwest are. Early in my painting career I did architectural landmarks from the 20s, 30s, and 40s.

6. If we walked into you studio tomorrow, what music would you be listening to at the moment?

My musical mood changes from day to day. Some days are all Miles Davis other days it might be opera, Brian Eno or East Indian Ragas. It has to be something that puts me in the “zone” where I focus on the canvas and lose all sense of time. I like rock, but it can be a little too engaging. I’m a guitar player and rock tends to make me unpack my axe and play along. Hey, I’m supposed to be painting, not playing guitar. Knock it off.

7. What has been the biggest challenge in your artistic career so far?

Starting over as a fine art painter was a big challenge. I had a pretty busy commercial illustration career working for Fortune 500 clients like TIME, COCA COLA, and NABISCO. Success in commercial art has no relevance in the fine art world. I was really starting from zero. On the up side, being a commercial artist gave me certain work skills like being able to meet deadlines and time management.

8. What is the absolute best part of your profession?

Being in the creative moment where the rest of the planet drops away and it’s just you and the painting is exhilarating . When everything is working harmony, there’s nothing better.

9. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

It would probably be Abiquiu. There are so many great paintable sites within a very small radius. Besides Ghost Ranch there is Plaza Blanca, the Chama, Echo Amphitheater, and the road out to Monastery of the Desert. Page, AZ is surrounded by lots exciting subjects, but New Mexico has better food.

10. I think we all have at least one hands down all time favorite painting…. what is yours?

It can change but, I’ve always had a special fondness for La Bella Rafaela by Lempicka. I saw this painting a few years ago at an art deco exhibition at The Legion of Honor in San Francisco. Most of the artists that I’m drawn to have a special knack for dealing with form.

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