Jason "Turtle" Hannon was born in Brenham Texas ( B -1974 ) living his young life in the country side of Texas before moving to Austin to enter the big city life.Growing up he was surrounded by a family of artist and musicians and was exposed to oil painting at a young age watching his aunt paint portraits and large scale fantasy realism in her studio space in her spare time. As a self taught artist he experimented early on in his teenage years with spray can art and other mediums in the streets and hidden areas of the night or abandoned buildings or any of life's canvases that are often ignored. Eventually taking his art to movie sets and back ground work for films in Austin he soon realized the potential of his work and the need for creativity and expression as a way to move himself and others emotionally. This was also a moment in his life when he realized abstract work was where his heart was.Turtle spent several years in his early 20's working with home decorators and interior designers in the faux finish painting era and doing mural work in high end homes as well as commercial works in offices and churches in and around Austin for 10 years. Training under a famous mural painter for several years in his twenties by the name of Ian Gilles from Scotland he learned some practical applications of latex and acrylic and using them in washes and glazes that helped expand his knowledge and understanding of those mediums.Wanting to move to more focused work and create imaginative abstract pieces that would last and could be exercised in a controlled enviromaent he moved into other exploratory mediums and first set up a canvas in 1999 and started to apply himself in oil based medium he is still practicing today. The expansion of creativity he could put into a canvas and the ability to blend and build outward was inspiring and has kept him solely focused on working in oil. The pleasant blends of colors and ways he represents them in his work is a direct expression of his style. Color and details can be found in his bodies of work and expression is lead thru the open application of the medium. Turtle currently resides now in a small mountain town in Colorado were he shares a studio space with his wife Sarah who is a stain glass artist and jewelry maker. He is represented currently by C Waters Gallery in Creede Colorado. ------------------------ Artist Statement - Color moves through everything beautiful in life we recognize and remember. Oil paints allow for seamless transitions and flows that feel endless. Colors that are closely related with the subtle addition or subtraction of another hue to transform and take you through the canvas create balance and opportunity. Contrast colors aligned with those subtle hues just at the right moment to invoke an emotion. Flows of movement and sways of intention with the off chance something is peaking out to surprise you. No visual starting or ending in the work just the right amount of intent. Tonal pallets with a soft amount or persuasion that lend to ease of ones eye in the work. All parts of the canvas are covered with detail and nothing left to feel abandoned or ignored. Clean strong persuasive lines that leave you to wonder what's just beyond the canvas edges in the rest of the color filled universe.