Jonathan Farr
Jonathan was born and grew up in Oxfordshire. He studied a BA in Sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art in London where he was taught by Phyllida Barlow and Bruce Mclean amongst others. On graduating in 1997 he was awarded the Dolby Travel Grant which took him to Mexico City to develop his drawing practice.
During his life he has lived in Bristol, London, Barcelona and Mexico City, where he is currently based. Jonathan studied a postgraduate year in drawing at the Royal Drawing School in 2011.
Jonathan’s artistic practice is firmly rooted in drawing, but moves across mediums. He has worked in drawn stop frame animation with commissions from musicians such as Alasdair Roberts (Drag City Records) and Mary Hampton and inclusion in several international film festivals. He also works as a children’s book illustrator and has 19 books published in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Spain and China with the 20th to come out in the UK in 2026. He also works as a printmaker. His personal practice ranges from observed on site landscape and cityscape to working from memory and his imagination.
He has exhibited in the UK, Spain, Mexico, China, the Netherlands and India.
Exhibitions have included the Trinity Buoy Wharf drawing prize, a solo show in La Trampa Gráfica Mexico City, the Mercer Chance gallery London, the Jerwood Drawing Prize, the Royal West Academy show 2015 and La Caja Negra UNAM, Mexico City. In 2014 he was awarded the UWE Moving Image Research Bursary.
Jonathan has taught people of all ages and backgrounds in a variety of institutions including workshops to adults with learning difficulties in Workshop 305 London, screen printing in a young offenders prison in Guadalajara Mexico, life drawing in LSE London and working for the Royal Drawing Schools drawing clubs and Foundation course. He currently teaches online drawn stop frame animation for the RDS and online life drawing and portraiture for London Drawing.
At the core of his teaching is a belief in the inspiration art from the past and the present gives, the desire to build confidence in students, whatever their experience, and to share his experience and knowledge of drawing.
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