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Bio / Statement:
“To be nobody but yourself in a world that is doing its best, day & night, to make you like everyone else means to fight the hardest battle that any human being can fight” …… ee cummings
Full Name: Jeffrey Read Hogan
Date of Birth: 07/03/1962
Education:
Elementary School:
Linden Elementary, Linden Michigan
High School:
Lake Fenton High, Fenton Michigan
Graduated in 1981
College:
Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand Rapids Michigan
Graduated in 1986 with a BFA in Illustration and
An AFA in Fine Art
Art Related Resume’:
Like All artists that I know of or even heard of, artwork related jobs have not been my only source of income.
Here are the highlights of my art related life:
Designer and illustrator of all 4 of my high school year books; 1978, 79, 80 & 81.
5 years of freelance art income while attending college. This included signage and graphic art related to a local sign shop, ad graphics for various local companies, print ads, logo’s , etc.
Also ad graphics, page layouts and some simple illustrations for West Michigan Magazine, Grand Rapids. This activity, almost by itself, kept me alive for the five years that I attended college. I had no regular employment then for more than 6 months at a time. I had some, but not much, financial support from my family because any more money was simply not there. My college tuition was paid for mostly by grants and scholarships that I won in student art competitions.
After college I took a very humble position with a newspaper in south Florida. I was advised, by everyone it seems, to go to a big city first after college like New York, Chicago, Atlanta, L.A.. That seemed to be simply Not for me at that time. So, instead, I decided to struggle along in a small town in Florida with a down-home, po-dunk newspaper called the Ft. Pierce News Tribune. I started out as an advertising artist, putting together simple ads from clip art books and some page layouts. After about a year I was “promoted” to the title of “Editorial Staff Artist”. This new position paid me a Whopping
fifteen Cents an Hour More!!! For that I did actually produce several Illustrations that were printed in the newspaper and their other tabloid. The remaining amount of income I needed in order to barely survive I made by freelancing mainly for Herb Ellis at Ellis Advertising, Ft. Pierce Florida.
After about a year of struggling in this way I decided that it was time to move on. Actually I decided to move as far away from this difficult situation as realistically possible.
So, I moved to Northern Michigan, to a wilderness wonderland about as far away from economic opportunity as a person could get.
Not exactly a good plan for building a substantial resume’. However, to make a very long story short, I still live in Northern Michigan, almost 19 years now as I write this.
I started a sign and graphics business which became the only business of its kind in the Petoskey, Michigan area for the 5 years that I had it.
I produced hundreds of signs, logos, ad graphics, etc. over those years. However, the cost of running this “seasonal” business ( only because Everything in North Michigan IS a “seasonal” business, whether that really makes sense or not) proved to be more than I could bring in, regardless of the volume. So, I had to close that up in 1985 and move on.
I then became a house painter, mainly because it was about the best I could do if I were to stay in the area. I became one of the best house painters in our county, working in some of the most expensive homes in the world, more than likely.
Now I am driven by an un-deniable force to do what I know I am capable of doing and to push myself, past All previous limitations.
This, I believe, will become self evident as I continue to post new artwork on my website.
“There is nothing noble in being superior to some other person. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self”…… Hindu Proverb
My greatest artistic influences: ( Not in any particular order )
MC Escher
Rene’ Magrite
Auguste’ Renoir
Norman Rockwell
James Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
John Singer Sargent
Roger Dean
I’m sure I could think of some more, but those are the big ones!
Any questions? Simply e-mail me by clicking on the
“Contact” link
Thank You
JR Hogan
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