[Ju'ni:k]/stUHf/

art by Lonnie Ellis

★★★★★

What is [Ju'ni:k]/stUHf/? It's the words "unique stuff" spelled phonetically. It's also your place to find out more about me and my work. I'm Lonnie and I make art.

(unique stuff)

About me...

I began my professional art career in second grade where I drew portraits of my classmates as cowboys and firefighters and astronauts in exchange for their milk money. In the intervening years I moved around a lot, went to college, got married, had kids, got a job, bought a house.

In late 2022, I quit my job to pursue art full time. I opened an Etsy shop. I started social media accounts. I watched videos about being a full time creative. One video suggested focusing on just making art for 5 years before thinking about selling it. Ha! Wouldn't that be nice!

I conceived [Ju'ni:k]/stUHf/ as a vessel for all my eclectic artistic pursuits with room to incorporate other interests: vintage and antique stuff, upcycling, movies and video games. It all summed up nicely as 'unique stuff'.

I had very little money and not much direction, but I was determined to give it my best shot. I began throwing stuff against the wall to see what stuck. Eventually I could transition into exclusively doing what I wanted, but in the meantime I had to make money however I could.

In early 2023 my father passed away.

I put the Etsy shop in "vacation mode". I began going back and forth to Las Vegas to make arrangements, attend the funeral, collect some of his belongings. We weren't close, but it was a profound experience nonetheless. How could it not be? As a catalyst to stop and reflect on the direction of your life, few things compare. I was also suddenly able to take some time to focus on just making art.

So, for the past couple of years I've been doing a lot of art. I've been experimenting with new processes and refining familiar ones. I've finally embraced my calling, I'm doing the best work of my life, and I'm excited to share it with you.

Areas of Focus...

I have a handful of media that I work in regularly, as well as frequently experimenting with new media, materials and techniques. Each one scratches an itch in a different part of my brain, and each compliments and enhances the others.

Collage

Until a few years ago I had never taken collage seriously as an artistic medium. This, and my use of discarded magazine fragments allowed me to approach it with a more whimsical perspective. It's an approach I've been trying to recapture since.

Drawing

Drawing is my first love. I think, historically, the art community has seen it as more rudimentary; suitable for studies or as the basis for a painting or other work (which I also use it for). For me, though, drawings will always be my most personal work.

Printmaking

Maybe it's just my approach, but printmaking has always felt like a more industrial process. I've been doing these multi block linocuts which require gluing and carving and this hinged contraption I made to make sure the layers line up when they're printed. It's mechanical, in a gratifying way, and yet has the potential to be quite evocative.

Experiments

I can't imagine I'll ever settle into a particular medium or technique. I do imagine from time to time that all of the different processes will coalesce into a single sort of meta-medium that somehow incorporates all of my varied interests. For now I'm happy to bounce from one to another.

Gallery

Get in Touch

Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear your feedback...

Reach Out

junikstuhf@gmail.com