Yellow Fields | Jon Jay Cruson

For Jon Jay Cruson, the open landscape has long been his inspiration. He has taken numerous trips in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California and created innumerable sketches of the landscapes he encounters. Upon returning to the studio, he studies and shapes them into the foundations of new paintings.

With the new series, Yellow Fields, the journey was. He started the series a few years ago, contemplated the progress, and decided to put the work aside. After a period of time, Jon brought out the paintings, made changes to them, and added more pieces to the series. What inspired was the continual trips at sunrise to late sunset through the wheat fields south of The Dalles and east to Pendleton.

On these trips, with each rise, fall, or bend in the open road, Jon discovered different patterns and different yellow fields. Some seemed like a blinding white yellow, others ranged from yellow tones to brown, and still others offered the occasional burnt black fields. These paintings are the result of the time spent, observations made, and response to the visits to this area. A friend of Jon’s observed, “When you’re driving fast all around eastern Oregon through the fields and recalling it afterward, the look on your face was really happy. It was the face of exhilaration, and freedom.”

A former California resident, Jon Jay Cruson graduated Cum Laude with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Oregon. He taught at the university, as well as Oregon State University and Treasure Valley Community College. His works are in numerous public and private collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Portland Art Museum, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art.

Opening Reception: October 10, Friday, 5:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Artist Talk: 6:00 p.m.

Exhibition Dates:  October 10 – November 29, 2025

Please click on the thumbnails for larger images.