{"id":31631,"date":"2013-02-24T15:28:57","date_gmt":"2013-02-24T23:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.57.196.122\/~gdatwofo\/theavtimes\/?p=31631"},"modified":"2013-02-24T16:52:40","modified_gmt":"2013-02-25T00:52:40","slug":"av-spotlight-abstract-artist-michael-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2013\/02\/24\/av-spotlight-abstract-artist-michael-jones\/","title":{"rendered":"AV Spotlight: Abstract artist Michael Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jones<\/a>
Jones says \u201csplattering\u201d is his favorite thing to do, and he is known for the vivid, intricate colors in his paintings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 Self-taught abstract artist Michael Jones is making a name for himself in the local art scene. The 29-year-old Lancaster resident has been honing his craft for just a few years, but has already accumulated nearly 600 pieces of art, as well as numerous accolades.<\/p>\n

Jones got his first taste of the art world, at age 3, from his dad \u2013 a photographer who also sketched portraits.<\/p>\n

\"Jones<\/a>
Jones (right) presented this painting to a young friend as a graduation gift.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI would always be underneath his arm to see what he was doing, and then I would try to emulate it,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

The Desert High School graduate says he abandoned art for much of his youth, save for a sketch or two in a high school art class. He then stumbled back into the art world about four years ago, when a friend bought him art supplies for Christmas. After dabbling with his new supplies for a few months, Jones began to take his role as an artist more seriously. Jones finished his first piece in 2009 and\u00a0didn’t\u00a0look back.<\/p>\n

Locally, Jones has displayed his art at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center (LPAC), at the Antelope Valley Fair & Alfalfa Festival, in monthly themed art shows at the Paris Caf\u00e9 in Lancaster, and at Graphic Experience on The BLVD. He\u2019s also showcased his art at galleries and venues around California, including Oakland, San Fernando Valley, and Venice.<\/p>\n

\"Jones<\/a>
Jones finished this piece in 2009 and didn’t look back.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jones commutes every day to his \u201cnine-to-five\u201d in the logistics department at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory\u00a0in Pasadena. After work, Jones spends time with his fianc\u00e9e and two children and then settles into his second passion \u2013 making positive art.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to paint happy paintings that are bright, to inspire people to think positive and not think negative, because this world is pretty negative as it is,\u201d Jones explains. \u201cIf I can translate these bright colors into happiness and make [people] go into a better place, I\u2019m all for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones describes the inspiration behind his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I just sit down at the canvas and I just start going away,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes I just look on TV or look at the newspaper for current events and what\u2019s going on and then create [art] in that genre.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to do abstract art, and then I have this thing with doing stencils, and then doing mixed media,\u201d Jones continues. \u00a0\u201cMy style is just starting to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"About<\/a>
About two weeks ago, Jones painted Willa Brown on a 1941 Roanoke Times newspaper.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jones admits to getting bored easily, and says he is constantly switching up his style and finding new concepts and inspirations.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest thing is trying to do something different but rare,\u201d he says. \u201cLike two weeks ago, I painted on a [1941] Roanoke Times newspaper. I brought the history back to life!\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones says he enjoys charity events and art shows that contribute to the community. He\u00a0says he would love to showcase his unique brand of art at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH), and he is entering MOAH\u2019s 28th Annual Juried Exhibition this year.<\/p>\n

Jones also aspires to open his own gallery one day, so that he can inspire youth, one mind at a time.<\/p>\n

Asked who has been a great source of support in the local art scene, Jones says, \u201cChris Calaba of Graphic Experience.\u00a0 She helped me a lot with getting it off the ground, and she gave me the opportunity to show my art in her gallery.\u201d<\/p>\n

View more of Jones\u2019 unique artwork below, and be sure to visit his\u00a0facebook page<\/a>\u00a0for many more images and for more information on how to support Abstract Art by Michael Jones.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"MJ1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"MJ2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"MJ3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"MJ4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"MJ5\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 Self-taught abstract artist Michael Jones is making a name for himself in the local art scene. The 29-year-old Lancaster resident has been honing his craft for just a few years, but has already accumulated nearly 600 pieces of art, as well as numerous accolades. Jones got his first taste of the art world, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31631"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31631\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}