We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jonathan Ege. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jonathan below.

Alright, Jonathan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I was always drawing as a child up until mid-way through high school. I come from a blue-collar household and it was made clear to me I needed to find something that would make money and artist only did well after they had died. So I started to do electronics and joined the Navy after high school to find a career that would make money. The Navy taught me an important lesson. “If you don’t choose what you want in life someone will choose it for you. After leaving the Navy I went to The University of Missouri to find a career, and at the time I was thinking of becoming a physical therapist. I began taking drawing classes for all my electives. I started to also paint and it was the first time I had a sense of the divine. As if god was saying to me “This is what I had always wanted for you”. From then on I have myself fully to my art.

Jonathan , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am foremost a painter. I have worked very hard at becoming the best painter I can be. I love not only my use of color and form but my mark-making. I have reached a level of discipline in my that has been my dream. The rest for me is just a matter of time to get my work the proper exposure.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My partner Crissy was active military for 23 years. For that time I have been a stay home dad for my three children. Being a military family we had to move every 2-4 years. I had to learn to keep painting anywhere I could. While overseas in Thailand, I would paint in our living room, While stationed near death valley I would get up at 4 in the morning before the kids got up to paint in the garage. Always adapting but always painting. The downside of military life is the inability to set down routes in any one place. Which can be so crucial for an artist’s commercial success. We have since settled in Silver Spring MD and can already see my work gaining commercial growth.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn was “wait until your work is ready. ” “Any artist who tells you the work is done is a liar or a fool” -Monet. This goes not just for a painting being done but also in thinking when work is ready to be shown. I would hear and still hear “Wait five years after graduation”, and “Have at least twenty pieces of work before you begin to show”. Putting your work out there is hard the only thing harder is knowing when you need to move on from work. We want to make the work perfect we want to be perfect. I was busy with kids, but I also know I fell into this trap of self-doubt.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jonathanege.com
• Instagram: giotto1401