Jonathan Happ
Skylight
These paintings are primarily taken from walks with my wife and infant daughter while on parental leave. The work has lightened and brush marks have loosened in response to either or both of my new requirements of fatherhood and the re-shuffling of priorities, artistically and beyond. I have been an amateur cloud-spotter for many years and find endless fascination with the study and close observation of the natural world and an attempt to record a fraction of the interwoven complexity and vibrance through color and mark.
Waldinneres Nocturns
My interest in painting is primarily related to its ability to suspend time. The work evolved from investigations into death through religious and medical lenses, and explores the Roman Catholic concept of purgatory. These paintings allude to forests as a timeless and spiritual place, while the harsh and unforgiving behavior of digital light leads the viewer through the darkness. My aim is to create a reflective space that invites skepticism and expresses uncertainty.
Waldinneres is a german term meaning roughly "inside the forest".
Jonathan Happ was born in Sterling, IL and holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Iowa State University and an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Washington, where his thesis work examined the historical and contemporary relationship between anatomy, religion, and vanitas in fine art. He has taught at the University of Washington Seattle, UW Bothell, The Evergreen State College, and Gage Academy of Art, as well as privately, and was awarded the Parnassus Teaching with Excellence Award in 2014. As a working artist, his oil paintings have been exhibited domestically and internationally, including a residency at the LASALLE Tropical Lab 8 in Singapore. His current work explores the contemporary Pacific Northwest landscape. He lives in Tumwater, WA with his wife, daughter, and cat, and serves as Gallery Director at Childhood's End Gallery in Olympia.
These paintings are primarily taken from walks with my wife and infant daughter while on parental leave. The work has lightened and brush marks have loosened in response to either or both of my new requirements of fatherhood and the re-shuffling of priorities, artistically and beyond. I have been an amateur cloud-spotter for many years and find endless fascination with the study and close observation of the natural world and an attempt to record a fraction of the interwoven complexity and vibrance through color and mark.
Waldinneres Nocturns
My interest in painting is primarily related to its ability to suspend time. The work evolved from investigations into death through religious and medical lenses, and explores the Roman Catholic concept of purgatory. These paintings allude to forests as a timeless and spiritual place, while the harsh and unforgiving behavior of digital light leads the viewer through the darkness. My aim is to create a reflective space that invites skepticism and expresses uncertainty.
Waldinneres is a german term meaning roughly "inside the forest".
Jonathan Happ was born in Sterling, IL and holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing from Iowa State University and an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Washington, where his thesis work examined the historical and contemporary relationship between anatomy, religion, and vanitas in fine art. He has taught at the University of Washington Seattle, UW Bothell, The Evergreen State College, and Gage Academy of Art, as well as privately, and was awarded the Parnassus Teaching with Excellence Award in 2014. As a working artist, his oil paintings have been exhibited domestically and internationally, including a residency at the LASALLE Tropical Lab 8 in Singapore. His current work explores the contemporary Pacific Northwest landscape. He lives in Tumwater, WA with his wife, daughter, and cat, and serves as Gallery Director at Childhood's End Gallery in Olympia.
