Mixed Media

Austin, Texas

Jay Long was born in Houston, Texas in 1969. As an adolescent in the punk rock leftovers of the mid-eighties, Jay learned many things which would be of no use later in life, such as, how to remove a burr from a dull fit, how to detach the screen from a kitchen faucet for alternative applications, and how to hold a twelve-pack like a football instead of by the cardboard handle for a higher success rate during unfinanced liquor aquisitions. Later, armed with a G.E.D. and a number two pencil, and as an occasional respite from the high life, Jay enrolled in Austin Community College in pursuit of a degree in Art. One class short of completing the two year program, Jay relocated to Los Angeles, California to continue his "studies" at Otis Art Institute / Parsons School of Design (when it was still across the street from the lovely MacArthur Park). This led to a short and unglamorous career in film and television, creating props and painting background art. Gradual disenchantment led to a much needed hiatus in the Santa Cruz Mountains, on Monterey Bay. It was here, in a shack nestled in the redwoods, that Jay focussed on a more personal approach to his technique and visual vocabulary to serve as a foundation for a more autonomous career in Fine Art. As for life in the present, it's pleasantly simple. When not working in the garden with his wife Nicole, searching around junk stores, speculating on quantum mechanics, trying to play guitar like a gypsy, or voicing the political opinions of a disillusioned malcontent, Jay can be found diligently working at his home studio in Austin, Texas.