Longtime Willingboro artist celebrates birthday with local library exhibit
Jonathan Wynn had quite a 40th birthday celebration.
Wynn, who has cultivated his artistic talents since he was a young boy, hosted an exhibit of his work late last month at the Willingboro Public Library, greeting former teachers, friends and family that have supported him over the years.
The Willingboro resident sat at a table near the entrance to the library. There were a few decorations, a notepad for people to make a birthday card for the artist, and a large cake brought in from JB Bakery in Burlington City.
One of the guests was Pat Paolini, who taught Wynn at the Burlington County Special Services School District and stays in touch with Denise Eugene, one of Wynn's advocates.
“I remember his artwork and him being a student and I worked with his mom (Linda Wynn),” Paolini said. “It really is so cool and just to see the art, even if I didn’t know him. The art is really nice. The colors, the trees. I just love the way the trees look.”
Paused paintings
Wynn, who is autistic, used to do his artwork at the Occupational Training Center in Burlington County, but has paused his painting for a while.
Eugene said Kaitlin Kneafsey, who worked with Wynn at OTC and attended his Willingboro exhibit, has started her own program called Allin2gether in Voorhees and has promised to make room for Wynn in her program, which provides personal assistance and supports.
“We will continue to reach out to Rutgers Adult Autism program as well as Rowan’s art department," Eugene said. “The goal is to attract students who would be interested in working with Jonathan and others in Kaitlin Kneafsey’s program. His father and I are excited that after three years, Jonathan has access to a program that is willing to accept him and is also interested in promoting creative art as a therapy for people with disabilities.
“… He’s basically been at home for three years and hasn’t done anything.”
Eugene knew Wynn's mother very well, having put together an art show for him in 2019. They were working on the recent exhibit when two major events occurred.
“As we were working on it, she passed away and then we had COVID happen,” Eugene said of Linda Wynn. “I had all of his work, so now we’re reaching out to people in the community to sort of come around him and even if he doesn’t want to paint again, so he doesn’t get forgotten. We’re going to try to preserve his artwork. We want to preserve what he did do.”
Linda Wynn was a tireless advocate for her son and was extremely proud of his work and made great efforts to get his work seen and recognized. Her son has painted impressive landscapes, many with mountains, trees, filled with colorful skies and bodies of water. Then there are the beautiful, colorful, floral paintings.
Big influence
Wynn, who started painting as a young child, was influenced by the late artist Bob Ross, a painter, art instructor and TV host, who died in 1995, but had seen some of Wynn's early work before he died and was impressed. Ross created and hosted an instructional program called “The Joy of Painting”, which aired for 11 years on PBS. A letter from Ross, dated in June of 1995, addressed to Wynn's mother, was on display at the exhibit.
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In the letter, Ross stated, “I’m sure with the painting ability he has shown at this young age that he will continue to impress and inspire many people throughout his life.” He ended by congratulating Wynn on his first place win in the Boy Scouts of America art contest.
“He got some of Jonathan’s work and was impressed with him, just like October Gallery (in Philadelphia),” Eugene added. “They saw some of his work and were very impressed with him. Artists encouraging artists … I think his art tells the story of where he was.”
Gordon Wynn said his son has had an artistic gift for a long time, but has “just gotten better. It’s just unreal. I don’t have any artists, basically in the family. This is a great thing for him. Since his mother passed, I’ve got to see if I can get him back in the swing of things. He loved his mother.”
Muhamad Bakarr, a local real estate sales associate, who also works part time at the Willingboro group home where Wynn lives, said he’s a fun person to work with. He helps him with his breakfast and with physical activities, among other things. He said Wynn loves to play video games.
He enjoyed seeing his work.
“I’m excited,” Bakarr said. “I was very impressed with what I saw.”
Celeste E. Whittaker is a news features reporter for the Courier Post, Daily Journal and Burlington County Times. The South Jersey native started at the CP in 1998 and has covered the Philadelphia 76ers, college and high school sports and has won numerous awards for her work. Reach her by email at cwhittaker@gannettnj.com. Follow her on Twitter at @cp_CWhittaker.
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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Willingboro artist's work hosted by local public library
