Jay Long, from Austin, TX,  has been selected as the Fall featured artist for Cottonwood Art Festival in Richardson, to be held Oct. 5-6.

Curating oddities, Long cleverly merges curious creatures, mechanics and emotion into his oil paintings. “The Outing” depicts an elongated elephant carrying a duck, cat, rabbit, frog and donkey as they travel over a hill, through the clouds and adventure beyond the city left far behind. The artist gives witty names to literal paintings, such as “The Owltlet,” that combines a stoic standing owl with a double electrical outlet. There is a tremendous sense of wonder and thoughtfulness to the layers of detail and meaning built into the designs.

“Sometimes when people describe what they see in the work, and it resonates with what I intended to describe, I feel like I’ve made a connection.”

Creating mixed-media paintings, Long begins the artistic process with an inspirational idea often from music, literature or theater. The sketch of the idea is a way of personally interpreting historic or contemporary culture. Drawings are transferred to a wood panel and then cut to a shape. Oil paint is applied over collaged text from found books. The paintings are installed in artist made box mounts and linen frames.

“I am excited and honored to have my work highlighted by the lovely people at Cottonwood Art Festival,” Long said.

Official merchandise with Long’s featured artwork will be available to purchase at the festival or online, and includes a poster, T-shirts, stickers and other souvenirs.

Cottonwood Art Festival is Oct. 5-6, 2024 at Cottonwood Park, located at 1321 W. Belt Line Rd. in Richardson, Texas. Admission is free and the festival is open Saturday, Oct. 5 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 6 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The festival additionally includes live entertainment on the Imagery Courtyard Stage and Acoustic Stage, a craft beer garden, food trucks, ArtStop stations with activities for kids of all ages and more than 200 artist booths with artwork from around the world.

Cottonwood Art Festival accepts applications for the Spring and Fall opens and closes twice a year. Local bands are invited to submit an Electronic Press Kit (EPK) for consideration to play at the festival by contacting [email protected].