Gordon Mortensen, abstract painter, began his studies as an artist at Weber State University where he received a degree in Commercial Art with an emphasis in Painting. (1968)

After graduation, Gordon spent the next three years working as a Graphic Designer for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation (St. Louis, MO), Successful Farming and Better Homes & Gardens magazines (Des Moines, IA). After BH&G his passion for magazine design continued and he spent the next five years working for Playboy Magazine as an Assistant Art Director. It was at Playboy that he first began to gain both national and international recognition from some of the professions’ most respected commercial art publications including: Communication Arts (Palo Alto, CA) and Graphis Annual (Zurich, Switzerland).

During his fifth year at Playboy, he was approached by a corporate headhunter concerning the Art Director/Graphic Designer position at Skeptic Magazine, an up and coming nonpartisan news journal known for its analysis of current political issues (Santa Barbara, CA). Soon after accepting the offer and joining Skeptic he completely redesigned the magazine’s format. The impact of the new look & feel was felt immediately. One year later, the publication was honored with a solo exhibition of its original artwork at the prestigious New York Art Directors Club. Gordon then accepted invitations to serve as a judge at three of the country’s most influential commercial art competitions, including: American Illustration (New York), Society of Illustrators (New York) and Communication Arts Magazine (Palo Alto). 

In 1978, Gordon formed Mortensen Design. Three short years later he moved the studio to Palo Alto to take advantage of the rapidly expanding Silicon Valley. Mortensen Design soon became Mortensen Design Inc. and its list of top clients continued to expand. Notable clients included Apple Computer, Hewlett-Packard Corporation, 3Com Corporation, Intel Corporation and several startup companies and financial institutions.

The design firm’s reputation as an award-winning studio continued to grow. Its work was shown in several juried competitions, including the AIGA, Communication Arts, Critique Magazine, Print Magazine, Step-By-Step Graphics 100, Graphis Annuals and others.

For ten years, in addition to running Mortensen Design, Inc., Gordon also enjoyed teaching Graphic Design and Brand Identity for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA.

In January of 2016, Gordon decided it was time to fully reengage in his passion for abstract painting. He closed his design business and launched his painting career. Since that time he has had six exhibitions at the following venues: Bump Wine Cellars, Lori Austin Gallery, Terra Firma Gallery and Pacific Grove Art Center. Currently, he is being represented by Lori Austin Gallery with galleries in Sonoma and Healdsburg, CA.