It's Been Awhile

Hi, this is John. Susan and I have been very busy with CCFA volunteering lately. This time of year there are several fundraising events and we try and support each of them by volunteering, making signs, and covering the Mission & Advocacy booth at the Baltimore Take Steps walk.

We attended our first IBD Day on the Hill in Washington DC this year, and although Johnny didn't get a chance to talk to a representative, we did handle all of the registration for the two day event and attended the dinner which was very nice.

The Baltimore walk went well, taking in over $150,000.00 and surpassing it's goal by a huge margin.

Now that the fundraising season is over for us for this year, I'll have more time to post some of my Dad's art. You may also notice that some of the images were "broken". I have no idea why, but I promise to fix that soon.
-John

Belated November Post - Oregon Coast

    Reproduced with liberties from an actual photo that was taken by my my Dad on a trip to Oregon, this painting reflects a somewhat generic view of the typical Oregon coastline, thus the simple name "Oregon Coast". The use of multiple focal points in this painting is what catches my eye more so than the subject matter itself. Notice how your eye is drawn to the large tree on the left foreground while still focusing on the trees atop the rock. Even still, the rock itself makes for a grand focal point in this piece. 

'Over Easy'


This is my favorite painting. It's a departure from the rest of his work, yet it retains the integrity of his style of painting. 


My Dad says of this piece: "I have only painted [three] stills. The other [two] are out in my studio... This painting, I thought about calling it 'sunny side up' but decided 'over easy' sounded better."

Also, I believe the blue vase is an homage to the vast collection of blue glass that my Dad's Mom, Grandma Ruth Long collected.

-J.H.Long

A Piece A Month Is All We Ask...

I've decided to offer up one of my Dad's pieces here on this blog at a rate of one per month. This means that sometime toward the beginning of each month, I will be posting a different work of his. October 2010's piece was Bristle Cone Pine. I'll be writing a short post about the piece, how it got it's name, when it was painted and why. Along with the media that was used. I hope everyone enjoys my Dad's work.

J. H. Long

Ken Long has been painting since childhood. He began a career in the sign industry when he was in his early teens, riding his bike from neighborhood to neighborhood painting addresses on mailboxes for a small fee.

    This talent later developed into his career after he was introduced to some of the old veteran sign painters in the Kern County area of California. These  master  craftsmen took him in as an apprentice and taught him some of the many trade secrets that he uses in his pieces to this day.

    Later, Ken was asked to take on the management position at Kern County’s premier sign company, Baker Signs. He was a working manager though, never wanting to stray away from keeping his “hand in the paint” as they say. Ken hired and trained some of the best in the business, many of them moving on to open their own sign shops across this country. From Oregon to Florida, from Chicago to New York and parts elsewhere, Ken's influence in the sign industry is immeasurable.

         In 1980, after working for other shops almost his entire life, Ken decided to start his own sign business. With only a roll of butcher paper, some paints and his brushes, Ken was able to develop Ad-Craft Sign Company into Ventura County’s only full service sign shop with all of the work being done in house.

     Ken’s career spanned over forty years until the late 1980’s when he was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and unfortunately had to retire from his business and painting.

     A passion of his since childhood, as soon as his illness went into remission, Ken started painting again, except this time he concentrated on pieces of art that were “affordable to the working people”, to quote him.

     Recently, Ken started work on a series of special pieces and has dedicated the profits of the sale of their prints to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, a charity which his son and daughter-in-law work with to help raise awareness of these debilitating diseases.

Bristlecone Pines

'Bristlecone Pines'
Years ago, my Grandpa took my Dad to see these trees. They are believed to be the oldest living trees. It was apparently a good memory for my Dad, as many years later (about 2006) he painted this painting and added it to his collection of art that he has donated to CCFA via my fundraising efforts.

Started this for my Dad

Over a year ago I built a website for my so that he could display his art online. I'm switching it over to this blog because I feel that this will be much easier for me to update.