Born November 15, 1946 in Boonville, Missouri, a single child, my father a business owner and teacher, mother a music teacher. My primary interests in school were art and mu-sic. I received a number one rating at the State Music Contest twice for trombone solo performances, accompanied on piano by my mother. My art teacher and my band director disagreed upon whether I should pursue an art degree or a music degree. I received a B.S. Degree in Commercial Art from Central Missouri State University in 1968. Following four years in the US Navy, I worked briefly as a commercial artist for a small appliance manufacturing company; produced the art for the first small appliance selected for the cover of the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue. In 1974 I began freelancing as a residential designer, married in 1975, designed and built our first home and resumed painting in
earnest. Worked for architectural offices from 1978 thru 1990 while moonlighting on the side. Opened my design office, J.E. Cundiff, Designer in 1990 to produce some of the areas finest homes and selling art through local galleries.
Family health issues forced closure of my design business and my wife of 45 years passed in May of 2021. I have been painting since high school (still have the first one), practicing architecture for 45 years seeing the two passions as innately related forms of artistic expression.

Boonville High School: 1960 to 1964
Central Missouri State University: 1964 to 1968
B.S. Commercial Art
US Navy: 1968 to 1972
Toastmaster, Graphics Artist 1973 to 1975
Hurst John, Architect: 1975 to 1977
University of Missouri,
Senior Architectural Associate: 1978 to 1986
Renner Howell, Architects: 1987 to 1990
J.E. Cundiff, Designer, Inc.: 1990 to 2020
Awards: American Institute of Architects, Mid-Missouri Chapter,
Honor Award 2000
Association of General Contractors, the Kansas City
Chapter, 2002 Building Excellence Award
Art Galleries: ArtExpo New York 2021, Spectrum Miami 2021
Jones Gallery Kansas City, Svens Kafe and Gallery,
Columbia Art League Gallery, Boone County Bank
Art Show, Poppy’s


STATEMENT
… is a voluntary effort to satisfy an involuntary urge.

Whether two-dimensional,
three dimensional
or ethereal
the desired intent
of the artistic expression
is to disconnect the observer
from the reality
arrived with…

to capture
to entertain
to supercede one’s conscious presence
with new information
in total departure
from one’s accustomed rhythms

to provide an escape
from the overwhelming, totally encompassing now
into
a free-falling state of uninhibited, limitless experience
where artistic expression
induces calculated, spontaneous excursions
beyond memorable experience
without the burden of consequence