When David asked me to write something about me and my work, I started to panic, like I hadn't done my homework. Even with some good examples from my colleagues, it seemed impossible.

I'd like to tell you how I'm driven by a passionate love for art itself, and feel a need to express myself to the world, but the truth is, it's simply what I do, and can't stop doing.

Since before I started school, I was always painting or drawing something. Although I wouldn't describe myself as either especially artistic or imaginative, maybe I've learned how to put my thoughts into a picture.

As for what I paint pictures of, I've just this moment realized that I must be making some kind of weird family album, using personal memories for subject matter, either sunny days in the grass on a hillside, or homeless nights in rainy London, then sometimes it could be an image of a window in the place I live now, with possibly one of the animals who have found a home with me.

In a nutshell, I suppose I could say that when I paint a picture, my technique will be straight forward and honest, my style will be my own, and the subject will be from the heart.

 

About Jonathan

Born in London in 1963, Jonathan was raised predominantly in Canvey Island, Essex, as well as travelling the world with his father, for his work.

Jonathan started painting and drawing from an early age, and missed the end of his schooling so that he could pursue a career as an artist. During his early 20’s, however, he worked as a builder until he could rely on the income from his art and could devote more time to his real work.

His paintings concentrate on atmosphere and emotion. The people that are, rarely, depicted are separate from the picturesque scene around them. He creates works that are introspective oases; quiet studies of life from both the city scene and his home. His London works, in particular, offer a contradiction from the busy, bustling urban life and show an emptier, stiller, yet more personal perspective of the chaos around them. Jonathan catches those silent glimpses of time and holds them fixed in the canvas. The viewer is then able to connect more personally to the work, adding another dimension to the artist’s vision.

His home now is in Deal, Kent, where he takes constant inspiration from his life and those around him.