Jonathan has been fascinated by drawing since he was 16 years old. He grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico, surrounded by scientists who pursued the scientific method and the extraordinary geology of the Pajarito Plateau. As he grew older, Jonathan gradually began to pay attention the dynamic beauty of northern New Mexico, and wanted to find a way to express what he was experiencing. 

   Jonathan taught himself how to draw. At first, his experiments were all failures, as he did not understand how to translate the perspective seen by the human eye onto a two-dimensional piece of paper. 

   At the same time, Jonathan developed an interest in meditation, and was able to link that to drawing outside. Frederick Franck’s book ‘The Zen of Seeing’ as well as ‘The Awakened Eye’ influenced him profoundly. Franck talked about using the observation of the world through drawing for something deeper; and so for Jonathan, the process of observing and drawing became a pursuit in itself, with the natural world the subject.

   Although he still practices illustration with pen-and-ink, Jonathan’s process and equipment has evolved over the years, as one needs different equipment to go bigger, as well as to be able to use color directly. This approach now allows him to incorporate light, shadow and color into his work, for a more painterly approach.

As his life has progressed, Jonathan has managed to combine his interest in portraiture, landscape and architecture with a social/political‘ style, often using the principles of collage to make commentaries about our complicated world. His output now cycles between observing the landscape in plein-air (drawing and painting on location outside) as he has always done, to reflecting the social and political fabric we find ourselves bound by.

   Jon’s pen-and-ink work has found its way onto many notecards and t-shirts over the years, and with ArtFair Apparel, that tradition continues!

   Jonathan’s other main passions is music. Over the years he has studied the violin, french horn, trombone and banjo, but now focuses primarily on guitar. He has produced a number of recording projects and incorporates music Into his time-lapse videos that document his outdoor drawing process. He lives in Boulder County with his wife Paige. He has two kids, Orion and Phoenix. 

Each artist we collaborate with selects a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to receive 10% of our company's profits from their designs at the end of each year. Jonathan has chosen Friends of Eldorado Canyon as his nonprofit!