Jonathan Baran
Biography
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Since 1998, I’ve worked as a decorative painter, a trade which I learned form a seasoned French craftsman in Montréal. I painted television, movie and theater sets. I moved to California in 2002, where I operated my own business until 2018. Throughout my career, I worked for the upscale clientele of Montreal, Sacramento and San Francisco, doing fine residential decorative finishes. After attending graphic design and 3D modeling classes at American River College from 2012 to 2016, I decided to focus on my own artistic production and started showing my work at the Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento.
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Artistic approach
I strive to create art which is an esthetically pleasing and vibrant. My artwork reflects how I view my surroundings. I’m always looking to find beauty and inspiration in the most unlikely places. I get great joy when I can translate my vision into an image that I and others can enjoy. Being mostly a self taught artist, I think of myself as a blue collar painter. My goal is to emotionally connect with the viewer through an expression of simple beauty. I favor strong contrasts, saturated colors, clear focal points, decisive strokes and a lot of depth in my paintings. While working with a variety of media such as soft pastel, acrylics, and oils, I enjoy developing a series of images that connect with each other while standing alone.