Our February artist of the month is Jon Bezayiff. He lives in West Linn and has pencil drawings in our permanent collection. His display features some of his favourite works from his personal collection. None of the items are for sale.
Here he is in his own words:
Jon Bezayiff, a long time resident of West Linn and a retired automotive stylist and illustrator is a man of varied activities and interests. Not only does perform monthly duties as a Tri-County Gun Club Range Safety Officer but he is also a serving officer in the Civil Air Patrol, one of America’s largest all volunteer organizations and an auxiliary of the United States Air Force . Recently promoted to Lt. Colonel, he was honored by that organization with a national award in 2012 for his contributions to aerospace education at the CAP’s National Conference in Baltimore MD.
In the past year alone he has won multiple art awards . This year’s Clackamas County Fair saw him winning four first places that included blue ribbons in Acrylic Painting , Drawing and his watercolor entry won Best in Show. In Addition his wood carving won first place for the fourth year in a row at that fair. During 2013 he was awarded the outstanding craftsman award for the entire Clackamas County Fair and that same year his woodcarving entry in the Oregon State Fair won the Judge’s Choice Award. His wood carvings have won multiple blue ribbons three consecutive years at the state fair.
Jon’s illustrations, graphic works and cartoons have been published in a variety of media like Model Railroader and the Oregonian. Jon’s graphic work is on display in several Museums such as Seattle’s Museum of Flight, The Smithsonian Aerospace Museum and the Naval Aviation Museum . One of his acrylic paintings was exhibited in Germany’s Daimler-Benz Museum and another is currently on display at the Oregon Transportation Museum . A series of large drawings Jon did to encourage children to read has been on display in the Wilsonville Public Library for many years. Holding degrees in Art and History, Jon has used his educational background to author and illustrate three published historical fiction novels which are also available as E Books.
However, despite his many personal accomplishments, if one was to ask Jon what he is proudest of these days and he will tell you that it was attending Tristen, his grandson’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor in November.
