CurtisLong.com
Title
Curtis Long's Online Art Gallery
Description
Curtis jokingly refers to himself as a recovering engineer. After earning his BS in mechanical engineering at Kansas State University in 1983, he spent 14 years working as an engineer. Successful but never really fulfilled, he chose to leave his career and his Professional Engineering license behind in 1998 to explore other avenues. In his exploration, he encountered the unexpected encouragement, enthusiasm, and influence of many local visual artists in Austin, Texas. Curtis soon found himself submerged in Austin's vibrant visual arts community, making connections, building awareness, and encouraging other aspiring artists in their growth.
In 2002 Curtis and his wife, Mimi, left Austin, Texas, with an Airstream trailer (Studio Laluna) in tow and set out to experience the culture -- art, architecture, food, music and people -- of the United States. His travels began to inform his work soon thereafter, evidenced by his Rural America Series and his many paintings which feature regional landmarks, icons, and themes. He participated in a couple art festivals the first year out and decided to pursue the festival 'circuit' more seriously. The past two years they have traveled the upper Midwest for shows in a corridor from Wisconsin through Michigan, with two-month stints in Shenandoah National Park (VA) as volunteers. They continue to travel full-time, returning to Texas each winter to show at the annual Austin institution known as the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar while luxuriating in Pecan Grove RV Park.
This year (2005) has been a new experience: Mimi accepted a summer seasonal position as an Interpretive Ranger at Mt. Rainier National Park. As a result, they won't be traveling the so-called festival circuit in the same way this year. For most of the summer, Curtis will be living in Laluna in Packwood, Washington, a few miles away from Mimi's apartment in the Park. He plans to make a one-month festival tour in the Chicago-Madison-Minneapolis corridor, however...if Mimi doesn't successfully talk him out of it!
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