Thanks for visiting my website. My name is John Logan. I was born in 1968 in Frankfort, KY which is where I still call home. I have a twin brother Mike (whose a very good looking guy I must add). I have a beautiful wife, Amber, whom I love dearly and means the world to me. We have 4 wonderful kids/young adults (Andrew, Chase, Payton and Matthew). None of them are worth a plug nickel but I wouldn't take a gobillion dollars for 'em. Just kidding, they're wonderful kids and each I feel will end up being an exceptional person. My family is very supportive of my art which has afforded me the opportunity to grow as an artist.
I work for the KY Department of Education in technology, which I've done since 1990. I started painting on December 25, 1999 with a painting set my kids got me for Christmas. I paint in acrylic, which can be challenging as almost all good instruction out there is in oil or watercolor.
I've recently resolved that I'm going to spend much more time in my artwork. You have to put time into something if you want to get better at it. I study books and videos (mostly in oil) and experiment with different brushes, strokes and techniques. Its exciting trying to adapt what you read about oils and watercolors into a different medium (acrylic). Painting is a wonderful hobby, especially in the winter months when the cabin fever's hitting you hard.
I've reached a point in my art that I feel that I'm finding 'my own' way of doing things so I'm just going to try and pick subjects and paint. I'm pretty bad about overanalyzing everything and trying too hard to do this or that. You can't do it in golf (believe me) and you can't do it in painting either. I can't adapt my painting style to mimic somone elses. It just doesn't work and it shows in your product. You have to let it flow out of you, however it may go.
Awards:
The Chamber - 2007 Artist of the Year
2004 & 2007 FAF Grant Award Winner
Thanks:
I must recognize a few people that have assisted and/or inspired me
First off I have to give a big thanks to Whitney Roberts. I can't begin to list the things that he's done for me. The world doesn't have enough Whitney's in it, and I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to spend time with him. All I can say is "Thanks dude, for everything".
The foundation of what I know about acrylics comes from instruction by Jerry Yarnell. His TV show was a huge inspiration to me when I started. I was fortunate to meet him a couple of years ago and personally thank him.
Robert Hagan is an exceptional gallery artist, and one of my favorites. I love the way he creates excitement in his works.
No artist can compare to Tom Browning at creating warm, soft 'quiet' scenes (as he calls them). He's famous for his Santa Clauses, but his ability to paint clean, determined brushwork which produces such soft edges is amazing.
Everett Raymond Kinstler is a living legend. He started in the 40s doing comic book characters. For the past 50 years he's considered the most influencial portrait artist of our time. He has direct links to masters the likes of Sargent and Henri. Kinstler preaches "Colour Values", "Watch those planes", and "There are NO recipes in painting". You get anything off this man and you'll be better off for it.
Daniel Gerhartz is definitely a master. Remarkably young to show the maturity that only a very few have, and most of the few are twice his age. He's famous for his figuratures. He has that 'something' that the rest of us aspire to have (probably will never have it, but that doesn't mean we don't keep trying to find out what it is and where we can get it :o)
The best money I've spent in art was on a book called "60 Minutes to Better Painting" by Craig Nelson. He's a gallery artist and art teacher in California. His book pushes the concept of 'studies' in art and gives many positive reasons beyond what I had thought they were useful for. It's already helped me in my desire to get better, and I can't thank him enough.
Laura Robb is a wonderful still life artist. She may be better than Schmid at forcing your attention in a painting. She has a looseness that I strive to attain.
Robert Coombs has everything that I look for as a fan of art and as an inpiring artist. His ability to paint 'just enough' and resist the temptation to detail is something that I aspire to develope. His work is simply amazing.
I've been very fortunate to have had the opportunity of thanking each of these artists for inspiring and educating me. Thanks to all of them.
Lastly I must thank my family.
My wife Amber is always the first person I go to for critiquing every painting. Amber has always supported my painting 'hobby'. My family is my passion and it starts with my wife who's the foundation of my life. I love you Amber!
Our four kids are the most important thing in my life and they will always be my inspiration. They make fun of dad for ALWAYS taking pictures of them. They're what warms my heart and as I get better I will continue to challenge myself to capture them in their 'everyday' scenes. We as parents don't take enough time to cherish these so often missed moments.
My dad always taught us to enjoy life and do what makes you happy. Pop's one of my biggest fans (the parents always are..). My mother is probably my biggest fan. She taught us to work hard for what you want in life. I think I could paint a limb sticking out of a potato and she'd hang it over her fireplace. I had a wonderful, loving childhood and the positive traits I have were definitely handed down from my mom and Pop.
And I lastly want to thank my stepfather Dennis, who puts up with "Logann's" hanging all over his walls for the sake of my mom. He, like my brother Mike, tell me like it is. If they don't like something I've painted they tell me. We all need that. Thanks Dennis! and Mike.
Now back to the painting..
At the top of this page you'll find a link to "Artwork" which contains a small recent collection of my works. Under "Subjects" are a few of the photos that I used as references to paint some of my paintings. Take a break and looks around. Let me know what you think by leaving me a comment or two, and tell a friend!
NOTE: The thumbnails will give a general idea of the kinds of paintings I do but they really don't capture the excitement, drama or magic that can be in a painting. Most of the paintings I do are 16" X 10" which when scanned/photographed can be several dozen megabytes. These thumbnails are stripped down to a about 10% of the size/quality so some of the 'umph' or 'punch' that can be in a painting is pretty much lost. The artist in me made me put this in :O)
Contact Info:
john@johnloganart.com
I continually update the site with new photos/comments so check back often.
Thanks.
