JONATHAN CAMERON
Poet • Painter

I was born in Minneapolis and located to Seattle when I was two. My father was a metals engineer at Boeing, my mom worked in various accounting depts. Unlike my parents, who grew up on farms in Idaho and North Dakota in near poverty, I had a middle class upbringing in every way. All my schooling was in the greater Seattle area including almost four years at the University of Washington. Since grade school I’ve been drawn to creating abstract pieces in any medium available. Always deeply connected to words and knowledge, poetry visited me in my late teens.

Even as a child my propensity was to be alone. Social interactions are frequently draining on many levels. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, I was reminded that it’s not uncommon throughout history for significant works of art to be created in solitude (where the artist has the space for expansive contemplation without distraction). I never get lonely, tired or bored exploring my own mental and emotional universe—accompanied by a wide variety of nonfiction books. From these inner world journeys, the conceptual material of my poetry and painting is born.