J. Golden
 An addicting fascination with black and white has taken my “pop art” roots hostage. Early on in my painting career, bold colors and tight black lines were my formula for perfection. As I have grown older and my mind has aged, so has my vision. The look has changed but the attitude has stayed the same. These shadow heavy paintings are the next logical step in my evolution.  Once upon a time it was stated that, “my work invites the viewer to slip into a world where everything is eye candy, although often there lurks a dark side just beneath the surface.” This statement was made about my color work, but I feel this still holds true for my current work as well. The collection as a whole is a reflection of myself. With a background education in Psychology I believe my artwork has not only strong artistic technique; it also contains emotion. A lot of these images may have stared out as basic marketing tools, but with the right rework  true real meaning evolves. In simple terms, you can get something out of nothing. This process is a constant fight. Each part is carefully planned. I use a basic 3 point question system for every painting. Does this piece have meaning? Does this work have feeling? Can this one painting stand on its own and still be powerful?
 
 I am no fly by night painter. I have been actively painting for the last 10 years. Lets also just get the obvious out of the way right now, I am quite color blind. This seemed more impressive when I worked in color. So far in my art career I have produced numerous illustrations to magazines and quite a few music CDs. I also held positions in the 2 largest art galleries in my home city. I have had numerous solo and group shows on average I am doing about 6-9 shows a year. My work was featured in a limited run art book, and appeared on an episode of the Warner Bros. television show One Tree Hill. I never saw the episode but I did have visual confirmation of the airing by a group of my nieces screaming roommates. Over last summer (2005) I was commissioned by the U.S. Navy to paint a mural on the wall dedicated to 21 Medal of Honor recipients at the Naval Medical Clinic in Quantico, VA. 
 
Plenty of people say that they are “self-taught” I am not going to try and sell that story. I was placed in an advanced set of art classes through out most of my existence in grade school. I don’t know if it helped me any but I certainly can’t say people didn’t try and teach me. Maybe it helped me get my day job in printing and marketing? The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. By all means, if you believe in the work I produce, let me know. Feedback is always encouraged.