Education
2008-current Attends figure drawing and figure painting workshops on a weekly basis to further develop my figurative work.
2002-2007 Laguna College of Art & Design. Bachelor’s degree in
illustration with a minor in fine arts. Received partial scholarships
and grants.
2004-2005 Hipbone Studios in Portland, OR. Attended extensive figure drawing workshops on upper level anatomy studies.
2002- Moved to Southern California to attend Laguna College of Art & Design.
1998-2002 Portland Community College. High School Diploma & Associates Degree earned. Received full scholarship.
2001- Painted at 12 foot mural of Noah's Ark at the United Methodist Church in Portland, OR.
2000- Editorial cartoonist for Portland Community College Newspaper, The Bridge. Won the statewide best cartoonist two years in a row.
1997-98 Pacific Northwest College of Art. Studied under Bob Dozono & Al Green. Received full scholarship.
1987- Sold drawings of Disney characters at recess on the playground in grade school.
The 80's -coloring books, National Geographic & Saturday morning cartoons.
My name is Jonathan Edward Luczycki ( Lou-ziss-key)
In the second grade I started selling drawings of Disney characters for
quarters at recess and spent my winnings on chocolate milk. At that
moment I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. Twenty years
later I'm still selling my art, but for many more quarters.
Since moving to Southern California nearly seven years ago, I grew fascinated with the early California impressionists and this thing called plein air painting. "En plein air" is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is used to describe the act of painting in the outside environment rather than indoors, such as in a studio. Ninety percent of the paintings you see on this site were painted in one sitting out on location. I paint fast. Thank you coffee.
I am fascinated by the effects of light in a natural environment and I love the challenge of capturing the mood before the light changes, especially at dawn and dusk. So many landscape artists work from photos, and that’s fine, but by painting from direct observation you learn things a photo could never teach you. If I’m painting the ocean, I have to see it move, I need to feel the sun and wind surround my easel, and with these I can capture those feelings into my work.
I spend nearly every waking hour painting out in natural light, seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. I paint from Balboa Island to Little Corona and Laguna, to Carmel and the Red Woods, to the foothills of Northern Oregon, and once a month I visit a new state and capture it's light. I will not rest until my work is known and collected by all serious art lovers and collectors in California. And when that day comes, I will take my brush in hand to the far east and west of the globe. My motivation and dream is to paint in every continent, and believe me, I will do it. There's a lot of beautiful countries out there that need to be painted!
I work in several mediums and am not known for just one style, although my landscapes are what am being recognized for. Academically trained as a professional illustrator, the human figure and portraiture continue to captivate me and I constantly strives to paint them in new and exciting ways. I have been studying anatomy and have been involved in figure drawing classes and workshops on a constant basis for over a decade.
I have had several solo and group shows along the west coast since 2002, from Portland, Oregon to Laguna Beach, Hollywood and L.A. Since 2005 I have built relationships with collectors on a national and international scale.
Jonathan Edward Luczycki is a member of LPAPA(Laguna Plein Air Painters Association) and a member of SOCALPAPA(Southern California Plein Air Painters Association).
He resides and works out of his studio in Costa Mesa, CA painting landscapes by day and portraits by night.
To view his illustration and portraiture work, go to: WWW.ABSTROTICA.COM
