ART
I’ve been painting since the early 1990s, but really I’ve been a creative person my whole life, and painting is just a part of what I do – my creative output has included collage, cardboard sculptures, prints, photography, digital art and more over the last four decades. But when people hear you are an artist the first thing they seem to think of is painting, so let’s start there…
RECENT WORK FROM THE STUDIO
La Dama and El Catrin
I painted these two in early September of 2025. I had been experimenting with paintings based on the Talavera pottery of Mexico. The Talavera had caught my eye and my imagination in the late summer and I painted the three pieces below. Both of these paintings have a background that is a Lotteria card. Then I added some Talavera imagery… I love the results. These two have been displayed side-by-side in our home since I painted them. They seem like a matched pair.
La Dama – The Lady…
She is card number 3 in the Mexican game of Loteria. She is a lady of elegance and style in her suit, white gloves and smart hat. Her meaning – handle all issues with grace and elegance.
Each card has a saying, her’s is “La dama puliendo el paso, por todo la calle real” – The lady taking an elegant walk along the main street.
Here she is overlayed with Talavera imagery – with a fan, a pair of bursts and magnolia flowers. Magnolia flowers, which symbolize elegance, grace and purity… underscore the fact that today’s word is elegance.
“La Dama”
acrylic latex, paper on canvas
36” x 24”
September 2, 2025
El Catrin – The Dandy…
A dandy – that’s not a word we use much these days, but back about a hundred years ago it meant a man obsessed with his looks and style.
I painted this one as a companion piece for the recently completed La Dama. The meaning of this card is about self-improvement and looking your best in all circumstances. He is a good match for La Dama with his gloved hand, elegantly held cigarette and tie with coattails.
I love mixing the Talavera images with the Loteria cards – they blend together like peanut butter and jelly! They both have a folksy style to them.
The bursts and the fan are painted gold because this is a dandy of the new gilded age. The blue flowers represent calm and serenity, trust and loyalty. This dandy is at peace with his place in the world. I like that it looks like he’s holding a bouquet of the blue flowers in his left hand.
“El Catrin”
acrylic latex, paper on canvas
36” x 24”
September 12, 2025
VISIT
– Jon Christopher –
The First Ten Years
of Painting
1990s – early 2000
I have an online retrospective of the first ten years of painting… ahhh, the glorious 90s!
View it here!
VISIT
INTO THE MYSTIC
THE TAROT CARD PAINTINGS | 2015
In 2015 we lived in a homestead cabin in a place called Gamma Gulch in the hi-desert of Southern California.
I was on my seventh year of my personal exploration of the mystic side of life, an exploration that began in 2008 after I read a book by Carl Jung about consciousness. I had decided that I needed to walk away from the beliefs of my childhood and explore other avenues of thought…
View it here!
VISIT
THE EXUBERANCES
Paintings from 2024
I’m aiming to create paintings with unbridled joy and exuberance this painting season,
because sometimes it feels like the world doesn’t have enough joy and happiness in it these days…