About Jon Reddick

Jon Reddick is an up-and-coming artist specializing in oil on canvas paintings. In his own words, his work is “inspired by the music that moves him.” Jon has spent the majority of his career pursuing his other gift, the gift of music. Jon feels that the two gifts, music and painting, go hand in hand for him, each helping the other come into focus and come to life.

Any one of Jon’s paintings reverberates with the rhythms of his unique style and incredibly artistry. His work is multilayered both literally with a variety of textures, colors and shapes as well as metaphorically.

Early History

Born in Durham, North Carolina, but raised in Memphis, Tennessee, home of the Blues, Reddick grew up under the influence of a musical family. His father, current Senior Bishop of the CME church, was a preacher and his mother, now a Grammy nominated song writer and piano teacher, played the keyboard in a band and lead worship at church.

The musical influences of his youth included artists ranging from Michael Jackson and New Edition and then he grew to love the harmonies of Boys II Men and Take 6. He was also musically influenced by west coast rap and his great love, Stevie Wonder.   The Gospel greats such as Milton Brunson, O’landa Draper, Fred Hammond, Kirk Franklin and John P. Kee along with Jazz greats Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut all have shaped the art and music of Reddick.

As a young boy, Reddick began drawing in the second grade. He used to trace his lunch box, sketch his Hot Wheels cars or anything else from the every day life of a little boy. In high school, Reddick began refining his sketching techniques and began focusing on still life in pencil. His mother, who saw that her son had a gift, bought young Reddick his own art supplies. He began to explore with color and enjoyed making the visions in his head come to life.

Growing as a Person and an Artist

However, Reddick always struggled with the internal conversations in his head that plagued him with notions that his work was never good enough. His discouragement led him to put sketching and painting down, and focus on the gift of music. For Reddick music came more fluidly and naturally, where painting required greater concentration and focus.

For the past 14 years, Reddick has made a living performing on stage, singing and playing the keyboard and piano both at church and with Christian and Gospel artists. He’s served as a Minister of Music and Worship Pastor and has simultaneously written gospel songs and done session work for other artists’ albums.

As Reddick has grown and matured in his musical profession, he has also become more self aware, leading him to gain a greater understanding of his strengths and weaknesses. He noticed, that he could lose himself in music, focusing on the singular goal of making beautiful sounds, but when it came to art, he struggled to find satisfaction in his work, always finishing quickly, but never being truly satisfied with the end result. As he came to better understand and accept the places where he struggles, he came to realize that his music could influence his painting and allow him to refocus, redirect and understand his limitations.

Music Inspires Art

Now, Reddick uses music to set the mood of his paintings. Music gets him excited about the direction he’s going with each piece and can be evidenced in the final works of art.

Reddick enjoys the beautiful marriage of music and art. He’s picked the paintbrush back up, while continuing his career in music, doing session work and traveling with various artists on tour.

Commission Work by Jon Reddick

To commission a painting please click here to fill out a commission request form.