Ron De Long earned a MEd from Kutztown University. He studied with Mia Shock at the York Academy of Art and later attended classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 1974 Ron studied with Rosemarie Sloat at the University of Salzburg, Austria. From 1995 through 2008 Ron’s position was Manager, Educational Curriculum & Resources for Crayola. After Crayola, Ron taught fine art at Penn State University.
Ron was awarded the Kutztown University Rothermel Alumni Award for distinguished work in his field. PAEA named Ron the Pennsylvania Art Educator of the Year in 1999. He received the National Northeast Art Educator of the Year in 2000 as well as receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from Crayola in 2007. In 2019 the Allentown Arts Commission’s Arts Ovations Award was presented to Ron for Outstanding Achievement in the Visual Arts.
Crayola commissioned Ron to create The Vision Award, a limited-edition bronze as a corporate award. Ron designed and created mural projects through the Pennsylvania Artist in Residence Program as well as a music mural for the Pennsylvania State University, Lehigh Valley Campus. De Long more recently had a retrospective of his work at the Baum School of Art, Allentown.