I am a self taught artist, and my medium of choice is oils. Occasionally I'll do a pastel, but I like the way the oils feel, the way they smell, and the effects that I can create. I am a work in progress, in that I continue to learn with each new painting I do. I have a vision of where I want to be with my art, and I continually work to achieve that vision. When I speak to other people about art, the main thing that I try to impress upon them is that to create, you must be able to see. It all comes down to being able to see what you are looking at, and accurately rendering how you interpret what you see...

My paintings, particularly my portraits, are very sharp. I've had some refer to them as Hi-Def art. Most artists tend to blur the edges, the backgrounds, to make the paintings more... painterly. Mine tend to be in sharp focus thoughout the picture. I don't know if this makes my work good, or makes it less good, but it's the way I paint. My style has continued to evolve as I learn more and more about this thing that I do, I only hope the work that I create can bring some joy to those that see it....



Mike Jones… Biography of the artist

Born in Pennsylvania, my roots have always been in Tennessee. My Mother’s family is from here, my Father’s family is from here, generations upon generations of my family calls Tennessee their home.

When I was 10 we moved from the city to rural West Tennessee. For many years afterward I couldn’t have told you if this was a good thing or bad. I suppose you can see good or bad in any situation, depending on what your perspective is. What I’ve come to realize is that all my life experiences are what have made me what I am today, as a person… and an artist.

My very early childhood empowered me to believe that I can be, and do, anything. I’ve always drawn and painted, and even as a child my subject matter always had trees in it… lots of trees. In my early teen years I spent many hours wandering the woods and fields around my home, fascinated by the random beauty that nature carves out of an creekbed, or the way the light filters into a stand of pines. I always hoped to be able to capture just a small piece of that in some way.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen many great paintings in my life, some famous, some not. My art education came about as a result of studying other works, other styles, other brushstrokes. Even today I am amazed when I see a really good painting and think of all the little brushstrokes, the planning, the experience… that went into it.
I am not formally trained to be an artist, it is something that I am just compelled to do. Some have told me it’s nice to have a hobby like that, and I have to explain it’s not a hobby. It’s a compulsion, it’s something that I must do. Regardless of whether my art is any good or not, it’s what I do, it’s why I’m here, it’s my purpose in life….

My biggest influence in my art would have to be my Mother. She has always remained supportive of my attempts, yet blessedly honest of my results. She’s the one person that always gave me honest critique of my work, for my whole life. Sometimes I didn’t like the critique, most times I pretty much knew what was wrong with a painting, but she was able to see… she can see…. And she would share with me what she saw. I think without her influence I wouldn’t be where I am today in my painting… And I love her for that.

My art is a reflection of what I see, of how I experience the world. Everywhere I look, everything I see, I see in paint… strong colors, strong contrasts, strong lighting. It’s taken a long time to get here, and I’ve had more than a few challenging moments along the way. I suppose that if I had been formally trained it wouldn’t have taken as long to learn the process, but then again, if life had been too easy…

I wouldn’t have become me…

At last