Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Jonathan Frank


From the Beginning, 21" x 25"

Jonathan Frank spent his earliest years playing in the canyonlands of western Colorado, and out of that experience, he developed a life-long passion for western lands and the desert. His subject matter is clearly a direct outgrowth of that, but his distinctive style was the result of an early experiment for a high-school art class.


Ephemeral Pool, 19" x 29"


As Jonathan tells it, "The practice of outlining my paintings began as a spontaneous, extra-curricular experiment on a high school art class assignment. Born of sheer teenage boredom, I was compelled to take a ballpoint pen to a rather bad watercolor abstract and just outline the whole thing. I found that the process of doing this was completely relaxing, and simultaneously exciting, and the result was visually striking. It made my bad painting 'kinda cool.' I was so impressed with the look of this that I adopted the concept into my general artistic thinking from that day forth. Nearly twenty years would pass before I started painting seriously, but when I did, this was my starting place. This was my style and I never questioned it.

"The outline has since become much more stylized and refined, as well as poignant. I now use a Rapidograph pen with India ink for precision and permanency. The outline also helps to give the whole piece a clean, unified appearance, as well as to emphasize the sheer strength of my subjects. This all results in what I call High-Definition Watercolor."


Convergence of Memories, 21" x 29"


Owachomo, 14" x 21"

Jonathan has received well-deserved recognition for his unique works, consistently winning awards in national exhibitions as well as in various magazine competitions. His paintings are published in Splash 7 and 10 (North Light Books), and he was featured on the cover and in a full-length article in Watercolor Artist magazine in June, 2009. He is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society, the Colorado Watercolor Society, the Western Colorado Watercolor Society, and the Texas Watercolor Society. His works are in both public and private collections.


Genesis Inviolate, 21" x 29"


Coming of Age, 25" x 25"


To see more of his art and learn more about his artistic accomplishments, please visit Jonathan's website.