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Jon Crowder
2001 Clover Lane
Champaign Illinois 61821
(217) 356-0045
jon_crowder@yahoo.com

Artist Statement

 
 

I believe that every work of art is rather like a self-portrait. Every work is a reflection of what the artist has chosen to produce, a manifestation of the accumulated mental impressions and lessons important enough to be expressed by the artist. The things that have influenced me through the years and that I have chosen to cultivate are thus represented in my art.

Many of my drawings and paintings reflect my longstanding appreciation of the woodlands and rural countryside, evidence of my small town roots. Since early childhood I accompanied my parents on trips to the woods around town, and to Forest Glen Preserve and Turkey Run State Park. I began painting the woods as a subject matter when I no longer had time to hike through them. Some of my small town and rural paintings are reminiscences of younger days. .

More recently, I have been painting watermedia landscapes that juxtapose two separate realms of landscape. This all began with my painting The American Farm, which illustrates the booming expansion of housing developments into farm acreage. From this piece I have launched an "Edge of Town" series that includes The Family Homestead and One of these things is not like the Other. Prairie Restoration, another line of juxtaposed landscape, humorously shows the "Prairie Land" plot as it is left to grow in all its natural purity with a factory in the background.

Brief Biography

 
 

I have been interested in art for nearly as long as I can remember. I was enrolled in adult art classes after school by the time I was in junior-high, and have seriously pursued art ever since. I have recently graduated from Parkland Community College with an associate's degree in Fine Art and Design, and am currently registered for my first semester at Illinois State University to work on my bachelor's degree. Though I have worked in several media, including oils, ceramics, and drawing (which is fundamental to any art skill,) I have been primarily working with watermedia paints for the past several years. I also have a small series of Prisma drawings that allude to art historical works, a theme I intend to continue .

Education:

 
 

AA in Fine Art and Design 2001, Parkland College

   

Art Awards:

 
 

2002~ 7th Annual Paint Illinois Exhibition, Judge's Choice Award for "The Family Homestead."

 

2002~ 7th Annual Paint Illinois Exhibition, Honorable Mention for "Prairie Restoration II."

 

2001 Parkland Fine Art Juried Exhibition, Merit Award, and Purchase Award for "Woods Near Catlin."

 

2000 Parkland Fine Art Juried Exhibition, Merit Award, and the Lewis Insurance Inc. Purchase Award for "The American Farm."

 

1992 Parkland Fine Art Juried Exhibition "The Researchers Desk."

   
 

1984 D-Arlier Trust Spring Art Show, Certificate of Merit for "Great Athletes In Literature"

 

1984 D-Arlier Trust Spring Art Show, Certificate of Merit for "Negative Space"

 

1983 Scholastic Art Awards, Certificate of Merit for "Hand-Gliding"

 

1983 North Vermillion Honor Award for Visual Art Excellence

 

1981 North Vermillion Honor Award for Visual Art Excellence

Collections:

 
 

Parkland College Permanent Student Fine Art Collection:
The Researcher’s Desk, Woods Near Catlin.

Lewis Insurance Co. Inc Collection:
The American Farm

   

Publication:

 
 

Images Parkland College Student Art Magazine, 2001 Spring Issue:

p.12, "Inside Devil’s Kitchen" (watercolor painting);

p. 13, "Railroad Trestle in Indiana" (watercolor painting);

p. 19, "Some Thoughts on Art by an Aquamedia Artist" (Essay).


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