Artist's Bio:

Liam Jones is an emerging young artist, educated at both York University and the Ontario College of Art and Design. He is distinguished by an accomplished technical facility in draftsmanship, color theory and process, coupled with a free spirit.

Jones is ever refining the communication of his personal vision. His first body of abstract art is concerned with subconscious communication as well as form, line and composition.  He strikes a clever balance between two things: a personal catharsis with its violence and immediacy, and a sense of humanity and peace; both of which invite the viewer into a dialogue about life, moments of beauty and spiritual nourishment.

Jones is a musician and for him, music is indistinguishable from visual art, manifesting a musical metaphysic throughout his work in terms of inspiration, narrative and line.

Jones’ work can already be found in several private and corporate collections throughout North America, Europe and South Asia.

Likes:  Being outside, his daughter,  trees,  wind through the trees, morning sunlight sparkling on water, music, his brother and family, hiking, MMA, barbeques (mmmn steeaaak), Caribbean food, singing, sun on the face, late nights, Kung Fu Panda, learning, his little, spirit-filled church.

Dislikes:  arguing, mean people, disrespect, inequality, alcohol abuse, being disorganized, slow computers, small talk, gossip, the soul-sucking office job (though thankful to have it).

Artist's Statement:

"My most recent work is about design and creative process, as well as spiritual concerns of hope, social and familial bonds, and awareness.  My work is not social criticism, nor escapist, but a warm and honest dialogue about the human condition wrapped in the joy of the act of painting. 

I spend time visualizing before I paint, so each mark is deliberate and loaded with intention, but I also embrace accidental methods.  I work through each painting and capture a balance of random and deliberate elements to achieve a successful design, like a sketch in an expensive frame.  I build up the visual field using moulding paste, palette knife and decalcomania techniques. I use acrylic paints in transparencies, sometimes collage elements, graphite and charcoal using technique that obvious, loose and raw. I most enjoy working subtractively, distressing the surface, revealing layers beneath in ways that mimic the effect of decay and the passage of time.

Whether I'm painting representationally or abstract, I paint for the sake of the beauty of a painting and not illustration.  I am inspired by interior design, and take into account the effect my work will have in a living space. 

I'm interested in how a painting connects subconsciously with people. I paint worlds one can escape into where I'm not telling the whole story, but like clouds or inkblots, the viewer's imagination completes the picture."

August 2009

 

Artist Influences: 

Robert Motherwell, Francis Bacon, Van Gogh, Manet, Max Ernst, Marilyn Kirsch, Michel Keck, Betty Goodwin to name a few.