Jon Crane Biographical Information

Jon Crane Watercolors, Inc

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BACKGROUND	ARTIST STATEMENT
Finely detailed rural landscapes are a natural expression of the personality of watercolorist Jon Crane. A man who loves being outside - on a Baja beach or the highest mountain peak, investigating a southwestern plateau or Midwestern cornfield, contemplating ocean waves or kayaking down a lively stream - Jon searches constantly for those special panoramas that he can translate onto paper. Through the medium of transparent watercolor, Jon is able to use its delicate nature to capture the fine details of reality that are so important to him. His oversized nostalgic landscapes of rural America have become his trademark. Jon is a descendant of two noted artists. Alfred R. Waud, Jon's great-great-grandfather, was a well known Civil War artist and correspondent for Harper's Weekly. Marine artist Milton J. Burns, Jon's great-grandfather, was a popular contemporary of Winslow Homer. Born in New Jersey in 1948, Jon left the crowded East to attend college at the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned a B.A. in Fine Arts in 1971. He spent the next 5 years as an Air Force pilot before launching his art career in Rapid City, South Dakota. He now lives with his wife, Gail, along a secluded trout stream in the Black Hills.	The further from the masses and the closer to a fishing stream I get, the more at peace I become. The further from the main roads and the deeper into the outback that stream may be, the closer you would be to understanding me and any meaning you might want to ascribe to my art. My subjects and my renderings of such are modest and quiet. There are no hidden meanings or agendas, no underlying realities or stories that I wish to tell when I begin a scene. They are simply views of the world that appeal to me. These views are mostly of the American rural landscape…farms, ranches, barns, churches, schools and vehicles, most often abandoned, and sometimes just plain old landscapes. My subjects are of real places that I have visited and enjoyed. This is where I ‘live’ and what I ‘paint.’ It is what I love. It offers a peacefulness that I fear won’t last. If someone wants to read things into my art, that is their business, not mine. I’ve had people point out things from bodies to ghosts, which simply are not there. What you see is what you get. No more. No less. (Okay. For the record, I have been known to hide a friend’s name in a painting or two just for the hell of it. But that is another story.) I work in transparent watercolor on paper. This medium allows me to express what I have seen. It is a beautiful medium with soft tonalities. There are few hard edges. Whites and light colors are achieved by allowing the paper base to shine through the transparent pigments. As romantic sounding as it may be, painting en plein air is not very practical for me, so most of my work is done in a studio. My work often involves hundreds of hours and sitting in an Illinois cornfield just would not work. In addition, many of my paintings are snow scenes. Water freezes. As a result, photographic reference material plays an important part of my work. I have two great studios. One overlooks a creek in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The other is Ed, our all wheel drive motor home that overlooks many great places where my wife Gail and I camp. Both provide controlled environments and good lighting. Both provide a sense of calmness and a relaxed atmosphere. When that transfers to my painting, I have accomplished what I have set out to do.

BACKGROUND

ARTIST STATEMENT

Finely detailed rural landscapes are a natural expression of the personality of watercolorist Jon Crane. A man who loves being outside - on a Baja beach or the highest mountain peak, investigating a southwestern plateau or Midwestern cornfield, contemplating ocean waves or kayaking down a lively stream - Jon searches constantly for those special panoramas that he can translate onto paper. Through the medium of transparent watercolor, Jon is able to use its delicate nature to capture the fine details of reality that are so important to him. His oversized nostalgic landscapes of rural America have become his trademark.

Jon is a descendant of two noted artists. Alfred R. Waud, Jon's great-great-grandfather, was a well known Civil War artist and correspondent for Harper's Weekly. Marine artist Milton J. Burns, Jon's great-grandfather, was a popular contemporary of Winslow Homer.

Born in New Jersey in 1948, Jon left the crowded East to attend college at the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned a B.A. in Fine Arts in 1971. He spent the next 5 years as an Air Force pilot before launching his art career in Rapid City, South Dakota.

He now lives with his wife, Gail, along a secluded trout stream in the Black Hills.

The further from the masses and the closer to a fishing stream I get, the more at peace I become. The further from the main roads and the deeper into the outback that stream may be, the closer you would be to understanding me and any meaning you might want to ascribe to my art.

My subjects and my renderings of such are modest and quiet. There are no hidden meanings or agendas, no underlying realities or stories that I wish to tell when I begin a scene. They are simply views of the world that appeal to me. These views are mostly of the American rural landscape…farms, ranches, barns, churches, schools and vehicles, most often abandoned, and sometimes just plain old landscapes. My subjects are of real places that I have visited and enjoyed. This is where I ‘live’ and what I ‘paint.’ It is what I love. It offers a peacefulness that I fear won’t last.

If someone wants to read things into my art, that is their business, not mine. I’ve had people point out things from bodies to ghosts, which simply are not there. What you see is what you get. No more. No less. (Okay. For the record, I have been known to hide a friend’s name in a painting or two just for the hell of it. But that is another story.)

I work in transparent watercolor on paper. This medium allows me to express what I have seen. It is a beautiful medium with soft tonalities. There are few hard edges. Whites and light colors are achieved by allowing the paper base to shine through the transparent pigments. As romantic sounding as it may be, painting en plein air is not very practical for me, so most of my work is done in a studio. My work often involves hundreds of hours and sitting in an Illinois cornfield just would not work. In addition, many of my paintings are snow scenes. Water freezes. As a result, photographic reference material plays an important part of my work.

I have two great studios. One overlooks a creek in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The other is Ed, our all wheel drive motor home that overlooks many great places where my wife Gail and I camp. Both provide controlled environments and good lighting. Both provide a sense of calmness and a relaxed atmosphere. When that transfers to my painting, I have accomplished what I have set out to do.

JON CRANE WATERCOLORS, INC.
P.O. Box 1100 - Hill City, South Dakota 57745
605-574-4441 (local) or 888-948-1948 (toll-free)
FAX 605-574-4445

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