After receiving a BA in Architecture from Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia in 1986, Curtis Jaunsen spent the next five years working in an architect’s office and painting abstract and figurative paintings that were sold in a gallery in Atlanta. He completed his Master of Architecture at Georgia Tech and became a registered architect in Georgia in 1992. After practicing in Atlanta for many years, Curtis and his family moved to Ocean Springs, MS where Curtis continued to practice architecture and also began to focus on more traditional or representational painting. In 2002, he and his family moved to Florence, Italy to pursue his painting at the Florence Academy of Art, a school modeled on the French academic tradition of the 19th century. There he spent one year focused exclusively on refining his drawing abilities before moving on to painting. Curtis now has a studio in a small town in central Mississippi where he works on still lifes and portraits. His landscapes are done in the great outdoors in the ‘plein air’ tradition, from locations as varied as the marshes of coastal Mississippi, to the sun bathed hills of Tuscany. Though his paintings include many different subjects, all are bound byhis deep love for beauty and his profound respect for truth. Curtis is represented by Shuptrine Fine Art Group / Gold Leaf Designs & Gallery located in the South Broad Art & Design District in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Artist Statement:
When I paint I concentrate on the pure visual impression of the thing in front of me. I try to find the beauty of light and atmosphere. I want my paintings to be truthful renderings of nature but also to resonate with feeling. My paintings involve hours of careful, intense observation. That is the chief joy of this kind of painting, that I can put aside the many distractions of our contemporary world and focus all of attention on what I find beautiful.

Education: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia – Bachelor of Art, in Architecture, 1986
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia – Master’s Degree, in Architecture, 1993
Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy – Two years of study, 2002-2004

Exhibitions:
2005, Shain Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina
One-man exhibition

2005, Florence Academy of Art, Corsini Family Stables, Florence Italy
Alumni exhibitionb

2005, Gold Leaf Designs and Gallery, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Group exhibition

2005, Mary C O’keef Cultural Center, Ocean Springs, Mississippi
One-man exhibition

2006, Florence Academy of Art, Corsini Family Stables, Florence Italy
Alumni exhibition

2006, Shain Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina
One-man exhibition

2006, Brigham Gallery, Nantucket, Maine
Group exhibition

2006, Eleanor Ettinger Gallery, New York, NY
Group exhibition

2008, Gold Leaf Designs and Gallery, Chattanooga, TN
One-man exhibition