Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Parker.
Hi Jonathan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My path to painting was not a direct one. I studied live-action film and video at CalArts, and much of my early creative life was centered on experimental film, video, and improvisational music. Those experiences shaped the way I still approach art: through rhythm, movement, layering, intuition, and a willingness to respond to what develops during the creative process.
I began painting more seriously in 2020, working from a home studio. What started as a way to remain creatively engaged gradually became the central focus of my practice. Over time, I developed an abstract visual language built through layers of color, gesture, graphite, revision, and erasure. I am interested in the tension between structure and improvisation—allowing a painting to evolve while continuing to search for the moment when its separate elements begin to feel inevitable.
Since then, my work has continued to develop through exhibitions, critical conversations, and opportunities such as the 2025 Jim Budman Studio residency in Los Angeles and my solo exhibition, *All Shall Be Well*, at the Athenaeum Art Center in San Diego. I still see the work as an ongoing process of discovery. Each painting builds on what came before it while opening a new set of questions about color, space, memory, and the ways an image can hold both uncertainty and resolution.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth or linear road. For many years, my creative life had to exist alongside full-time work, raising a family, and the practical responsibilities of everyday life. I came to painting seriously later than many artists, without a traditional career path, and much of the work has been made in a home studio during whatever time and space I could protect for it.
One of the greatest struggles has been learning to trust the work and my own instincts. Abstract painting involves long periods of uncertainty, and progress is rarely straightforward. A painting can feel resolved one day and completely fall apart the next. I have had to become comfortable with revision, failure, and sometimes painting over something successful to discover what the work actually needs.
I have been fortunate, however, to have the support of several friends within the art community. Their encouragement helped me continue during periods of doubt, while their honest criticism challenged me to look more closely at the work and push it further. Those relationships have been an important part of my development and have made what can be an isolating practice feel connected to a larger conversation.
There have also been challenges in gaining visibility, finding the right opportunities, and building a place for myself within the art world while continuing to develop the work. At times, it has been difficult to know whether I was moving forward. Looking back, I can see that the uncertainty, the criticism, and the persistence have all helped me develop a more personal and honest visual language.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a contemporary abstract painter whose work explores color, movement, memory, and the tension between structure and improvisation. My paintings are built gradually through layers of color, gestural marks, graphite lines, revision, and erasure. I often begin without a fixed image in mind, allowing the work to develop through a process of action and response. Intuitive passages are balanced by more deliberate decisions about composition, rhythm, and space.
My background in experimental film and improvisational music continues to shape the way I work. I think about a painting in terms of movement and duration—how the eye travels through it, where it pauses, and how one visual moment affects the next. The graphite structures provide a kind of underlying architecture, while color and gesture move through, disrupt, and reorganize that framework.
I am most proud that I have developed a visual language that feels recognizably my own while remaining open to change. My 2025 residency at Jim Budman Studio and my solo exhibition, *All Shall Be Well*, at the Athenaeum Art Center were meaningful milestones, but I am equally proud of the persistence it took to reach them and of the continued growth within the work.
What may set my practice apart is the combination of careful construction and genuine uncertainty. I do not want the paintings to simply illustrate an idea I already understand. I want the process to reveal something unexpected—to hold contradiction, vulnerability, and discovery while still arriving at a sense of coherence.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
The most important thing is to put yourself out there, even when it feels uncomfortable. Go to openings, introduce yourself to people, ask questions, and take a genuine interest in what other artists and curators are doing. Networking has worked best for me when I approach it as building real relationships and participating in the art community, rather than focusing on what someone might be able to do for my career.
It is also important not to be afraid of obstacles, rejection, or failure. Not every introduction will lead somewhere, not every opportunity will work out, and not everyone will respond to your work. Developing these relationships—and developing as an artist—has required a much tougher skin than I had when I started. At the same time, remaining open to encouragement and honest criticism has allowed several friendships within the art community to become meaningful sources of mentorship.
My advice is to keep showing up. Be sincere, support other people’s work, listen carefully, and stay in contact without forcing the relationship. Mentorship does not always arrive through a formal invitation. Sometimes it develops gradually through repeated conversations, shared experiences, and the willingness to ask for—and truly consider—someone’s perspective.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jonathanpaulparker.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanpaulparker/
