Today we’d like to introduce you to Stewart Jones
Hi Stewart, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
How does one become an artist? For me, it started with an interest in art that was supported at a young age by my family. My parents were both born in Ohio and met while attending elementary school. My father’s first job; after the Korean war, was in forestry in Florida. I was born in 1956 in Panama City, Florida. We moved to Georgia for a brief time when I was 3. When my grandfather was killed in a farming accident; my parents moved back to Ohio to take care of the farms my grandfather had accumulated. Needless to say, farms and barns are a favorite subject of mine to paint.
I began painting and drawing as a young child. Some of my early drawings were influenced by the animated character “Rat Fink” which was created by the artist Ed Roth. I choose this subject because I thought the animation of animals and automobiles were an exciting and fun subject for an 8 year old boy to learn to draw. My grandmother had a pretty good talent for drawing with pastels. At an early age both my grandmothers encouraged me to be creative. I would take art to the county fair in anticipation of winning an award for my age group. My other grandmother was the Flower & Garden editor for the local newspaper. I would go with her as she interviewed local people to have stories written about their flower gardens in the local newspaper. Some of my earlier paintings were of flowers and I still continue to do paintings of flowers today.
My art teacher showed me the fundamentals of watercolor and how the paint mixed with water reacted on the paper. He also taught me how to blow through an ordinary milk straw to get the watercolor to move in the shape of a tree and its limbs. My favorite class in high school was mechanical drawing. I always liked drawing and the coordination of the eyes and hands to be able to create 3-dimensional drawings on a 2-dimensional surface was fascinating to me. In college I received a degree in Commercial Art where I learned to design advertisements for the advertising industry.
I did a lot of drawing and design classes in college. This is also where I learned my basic fundamentals for painting. While in school at Ferris State I met my wife-to be, Kim. She and I have the same art degree and Kim continues to work in Graphic Design.
My first job after college was working for a printing company. I was only there a year, but I learned skills as a production artist in the graphic arts industry. From there I moved to the Livonia, Michigan area and worked for the advertising department of the Kroger Company. This was where my wife-to-be lived. In Livonia I began painting wildlife and nature. I would go to local parks during my free time to study and photograph waterfowl in their natural habitat. This was also the time I began taking classes in watercolor painting at the local community college. I also joined the local art club and visited art galleries that specialized in wildlife art. My first paintings were of the landscape around the area I lived. My time in Michigan seemed short however, because the Kroger Company offered me a transfer to Florida. How could I say “No” to that! I asked Kim to marry me and we would settle in Florida. Our first home in Florida was only two blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. I was actually born in Florida, but I don’t remember the experience because I was so young. I loved the ocean, the marshes, the rivers; the “Salt Life”. Beaches, boats and shorebirds became favorite subjects to paint. Beaches full of families having fun, sea oats blowing in the winds, migrating birds and even stormy skies. I had to paint it all and I feel I’m still just getting started. We lived near the beach for two years and during this time I took local painting classes to further develop my skills at painting.
I continued to travel back to our farm in Ohio where my mother and father still lived. I would create paintings from around the area and take photo references for future paintings. A favorite of mine was to create paintings of our family farm, the house and surrounding fields. I always loved that area of the country, the smell of the freshly cut fields of hay, the cool snowy winter days and the colorful autumn foliage. On visits back to the family farm, I would often rise early, walk or drive to a spot to set up and paint.
Not only do I create paintings of the Ohio, Michigan and Florida areas where I have lived, but also other areas that I have traveled to. I have visited family and friends and painted in New England, The Carolinas, California, Arizona, Tennessee, Utah and most recently Colorado.
After two years of living in an apartment near the beach in Florida, the company I worked for relocated to Orlando. I always regretted having to make that move away from the ocean, but 40 years later I’m still here. I have two daughters who are now married and two grandchildren. Our oldest daughter, granddaughter and grandson live near us in Orlando. She is an interior designer and her husband is an architect. Our younger daughter works in the animation field for the movie industry. She recently took the opportunity she dreamed of and moved to Los Angeles with her husband. Our whole family shares a similar passion for the arts.
During our years in Orlando, I continued to paint and exhibit my paintings in festivals and galleries. I participated in many art festivals through the years. This is a great way to meet patrons of the arts and to sell paintings.
My work is represented in several galleries in Central Florida. You can view more of my paintings on my website at www.StewartJonesArt.com. You can also find me on Facebook and Instagram. I look forward to my future travels where I get more inspiration to paint. Since my youngest daughter moved to California two years ago, I have a good reason to travel west more often and enjoy new areas of the country, including Plein Air painting along the way in various National Parks. What is the first thing I’ll do when I go to a new location? I’ll probably get up early and go paint.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Creating and selling art is a very rewarding experience. But there are always hurdles to jump over. Outdoor shows always depend on the traffic and the weather which are two things the artist has very little control over. I’ve watched tents blow over, paintings with glass crash on the sidewalk and festival goers just walk on by and sometimes there aren’t enough patrons to support all the artists who are showing their work at the art festivals. I won a few awards at these festivals, but the time required to prepare, set-up and sit at your booth proved to be a difficult and time-consuming venue. About 20 years ago I decided to rent a studio in an art gallery in historic Sanford, Florida. I work out of my studio; called “Gallery on First,” where the public is invited to walk in and talk to the artists at work. Some of the artists; including myself teach their art to aspiring artists. I teach beginning and intermediate watercolor classes at my studio every week.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I paint primary with watercolor pigments on watercolor paper, but have also created many paintings with oil and acrylic paints. I feel that watercolor gives me the opportunity for more expressive freedom. It is less predictable than oil and acrylics and I can achieve various effects that can’t be created with other mediums. I have this love for painting on location, so I take my painting supplies with me and I always find time to paint the local landscape. This is called “Plein Air” painting. It is French for “Open Air” and has become a popular movement in artists groups growing in popularity during the last 20 years. I became involved in “Plein Air” events that were organized in Florida. These events included 20-30 artists painting in cities, towns and areas in anticipation of selling the completed paintings to the public. Proceeds of the sales of the paintings would benefit local organizations that were trying to raise funds to benefit the community or specific environmental causes. These include museums, nature centers, and organizations to protect natural & scenic rivers. It is always great being able to give back to the community through involvement in the arts.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
There are many watercolor artists in the Central Florida area. We have established the Central Florida Watercolor Society which has over 150 members. I was president for 4 years when we submitted and received our 501-C3 non-profit status. This is a Non-Profit Group promoting water-based painting and art. The purpose of the Central Florida Watercolor society is to contribute to the cultural atmosphere of Central Florida, by promoting interest, education and participation in the art of watercolor.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://StewartJonesArt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stewartjonesart/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stewart.jones.7106
Image Credits
All images taken by the artist.
