Jonathan Grogan is a primitive artist in every sense.  As a self-taught mask-maker, using wood from various tree species, he coaxes forth expressions that are alluring and thought-provoking while beckoning the viewer to remember their own connection to nature.

 

As a painter, in spite of his untrained and sometimes heavy-handed folk style, Jonathan manages to capture the essence of light as it plays in our natural environment.  Whether a raucous scene of musicians, or mythic seascape with a wayward dinghy, or a mask carved out of ancestral wood, you hear the music, smell the salt air and make out the distant rumble of a tribal drum; this is Jonathan's gift.

 

Jonathan lives in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina and paints primarily in pastel and acrylic on various reclaimed materials, alongside his family and studio dog, June.  He is represented by 87 Ruffin Street Gallery in Linville, North Carolina.  He has works in permanent collections around the world.