Life as an Artist
Jon J. Krider has been drawing ever since he was able to lift a pencil. His early drawings were mostly comprised of landscapes and wildlife. He loves the outdoors, and has spent countless hours studying the different landscapes, plant and animal life that he came across in the woods and fields around his childhood home.

It was not unusual for Jon to grab his sketchbook, and head off to his favorite tree where he could climb up and sit quietly on a large limb to study and draw the animals that would pass by in their natural surroundings.

Jon’s early drawings were done using a good old #2 graphite school pencil. It wasn't long before he felt the uncontrollable urge to capture all the wonderful colors and images on canvas. His first choice of mediums was to use oils. He fell in love with oils because of their ability to blend together and create a wide range of colors on his palette.

Although a self-taught artist, Jon spent many hours studying the works, techniques, and styles of other artists by observation and/or by reading books. One of his best resources is a book that was printed almost 100 years ago – Freehand Perspective and Sketching by Dora Miriam Norton. This book is still a valuable asset in his private collection, and he still will read it today. This combination provided Jon with the basic foundation to develop his own unique style.

It was by accident that Jon discovered the artistic creativity of colored pencils. During a time when he was not able to use oil paints, he began to experiment with pastels, which took no time to dry and left no odors. Falling back to his learning technique, Jon was in a bookstore looking through art books about the use of pastels when he came across a book on colored pencils. Jon's first impression was this is kids stuff, but when he saw the unbelievable works done in colored pencils by other artists, he was just had to give them a try. Jon discovered that the layering process of colored pencil was very similar to his approach in oils. However after several years of study, Jon has returned to the use of oil paints. Using colored pencils taught him to pay closer attention to the finer details of his works, and how to achieve a multitude of colors from layering. Jon will adapt what he learn and apply these techniques in he new works.

Awards
Regional and national organizations recognize Jon's excellence in drawing, painting, and web design. Jon has received awards from: