Liam Jones Fine Art

Homage to Cy Twombley

2011-11-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

This six foot long abstract painting is titled "Homage To Cy Twombley". Cy Twombley, a celebrated American painter passed away this past summer in his eighties, leaving a stunning legacy of abstract painting. I particularly love his Peony series.

I read a bit about Twombely and saw that he studied under Robert Motherwell, another of my favourites in abstract design.

This painting can be seen at Rawlicious in Bloor West Village, Toronto until December. It is for sale, at $1500.

New Original Modern Art Painting --"I Really think So"

2011-07-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

This is a fun one, finished today, and available via my website, eBay or in person. The price is $275. What a steal! I had a friend say it looks like a Betta fish. I just about called it that, but stuck with my theme of conversation titles. Hope you like it! Click on the painting to be taken to my eBay store.

Original Modern Art Abstract Painting by Liam Jones

2011-07-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest painting, available locally, on www.liamjonesfineart.com and on eBay

Abstract Art

2011-07-05T22:56:00.000-07:00

Painting in the morning has become a regular routine recently. I used to be a night owl, now I'm an early riser.

Here's a new abstract painting. You can purchase it off my website, or eBay, or contact me through this blog.

2011-06-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

I never get tired of Van Gogh. He was my first real obsession with painting. From studying his self portraits, I developed a love of painting, specifically colour theory, visual blends, texture, emotion, modernism, and a love of paint...

I don't feel like writing an essay on Van Gogh, his painting theory and technique right this instant, though I could and I have. But for now, I'm just going to post this one self portrait that shows it all, and I'm going to paint in the afternoon light while it's here.

Here's to art and life!

Modern Art Liam Jones Style

2011-06-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

These are some paintings currently available. Click them to see the full listings in my eBay store.

Painting is a release for me. It's when I'm moving in my element. It's not a chore, or something I strive at anymore. Sure, there are times when I struggle with a painting, but the excitement of creating possibly the best I've done keeps pushing things forward and keeping it fresh. Sometimes I just paint over it and make more texture so the next layer has the memory of what happened before.

2011-05-06T12:09:00.001-07:00

Shhh, don't tell my dad. This is for him. He's the biggest Gordon Lightfoot fan you'll ever meet. He's gonna freak. Oh, wait, maybe posting it on my blog and trying to keep it secret doesn't make much sense... ;)

2011-05-06T12:05:00.001-07:00

"Cathedral" Revised

"I'll Tell You All About It"

Here are two new ones.

That is no match for wishful thinking!

2011-03-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Abstract paintings that are bright and bold like this just do it for me. The working title is "No Match For Wishful Thinking". Maybe it should be "Wishful Thinking". Maybe "The Power of Wishful Thinking".

See, I'm a fan of animated movies. Especially ones like "Ratatouille", that speak of the things that are counter-intuitive to the crap of every day life. I wax inspirational: With all the bad news in Japan and unrest throughout the middle East, the recession, our crazy goverment and their posturing, the decline of the family unit... there's so much bad out there, I say "That is no match for wishful thinking!"

I'm ba-ack!

2010-12-12T23:25:00.000-08:00

If you're new to my work, welcome!

It's been over a year since I pretty much stopped marketing my work online. Life is like that sometimes. A parent passes away, and everything gets put on hold. Things change, and time just keeps on moving forward.

So this is my new website. Seriously, I can't stand this computer business. It's gives me grey hairs and a short temper, but if you're an art lover and you've stumbled on my stuff through one of the many ways I've put "Liam Jones Fine Art" out there online, then it was worth it!

There's a bunch of new stuff coming down the pipe. One exciting new development is a partnership with Jacek Karlowski, who is one heavy musician and a great painter here in the Toronto area. We've been friends for years, and finally there is the opportunity to team up and pool our resources. We call our project "Good Guy Productions". Well, we haven't fully settled on the name, but it kinda gets the idea across.

Anyhoo, welcome! It's great to be back. I hope to hear from you. Here's to music and art!

Just a Painter Passing Through

2009-11-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

My mom passed away in late September. I haven't been painting much lately. Everyone has to go through it at some point, I guess, but right now it's my turn. If your mom is still around, give her a hug.

This horse painting was completed recently, it is currently available for $2500.

2009-08-21T00:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of new paintings. Click on them to go to my eBay store.

Liam's Choice Artists: Serafino Catallo

2009-07-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

This fellow is a young artist in my home town of Toronto. His work is serious, bold minimalist abstract in multimedia, I think he's awesome, and a total inspiration.

To check out more of his work, go to:
www.leonardogalleries.com/serafino

Liam's Choice Artists: Rachel Ovadia

2009-07-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this artist's work, in Toronto. I think her work is amazing, and I had to post a blog about it.

Here are some links:
Rachel Ovadia at Gallery133 Toronto
http://www.gallery133.com/

Latest Abstract Paintings

2009-07-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

To find out more, or to purchase these paintings, go to Liam's eBay store: Liam Jones Fine Art: eBay

Seeing Beauty in the Everyday

2009-07-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

All it takes is open ears, open eyes, paying attention to what's going on around you.
That, to me is the point of an experiment that took place in a Washington DC rush hour, when one of the worlds greatest violinists busked in front of a subway.

Here's the link to the article with the videos I'm talking about:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html?referrer=emailarticle

I've looked at the videos and read this article many times now, and I can't get over it. This is the best part for me, as taken directly from the article:

"...THE CULTURAL HERO OF THE DAY ARRIVED AT L'ENFANT PLAZA PRETTY LATE, in the unprepossessing figure of one John Picarello, a smallish man with a baldish head.

Picarello hit the top of the escalator just after Bell began his final piece, a reprise of "Chaconne." In the video, you see Picarello stop dead in his tracks, locate the source of the music, and then retreat to the other end of the arcade. He takes up a position past the shoeshine stand, across from that lottery line, and he will not budge for the next nine minutes.

Like all the passersby interviewed for this article, Picarello was stopped by a reporter after he left the building, and was asked for his phone number. Like everyone, he was told only that this was to be an article about commuting. When he was called later in the day, like everyone else, he was first asked if anything unusual had happened to him on his trip into work. Of the more than 40 people contacted, Picarello was the only one who immediately mentioned the violinist.

"There was a musician playing at the top of the escalator at L'Enfant Plaza."

Haven't you seen musicians there before?

"Not like this one."

What do you mean?

"This was a superb violinist. I've never heard anyone of that caliber. He was technically proficient, with very good phrasing. He had a good fiddle, too, with a big, lush sound. I walked a distance away, to hear him. I didn't want to be intrusive on his space."

Really?

"Really. It was that kind of experience. It was a treat, just a brilliant, incredible way to start the day."

Picarello knows classical music. He is a fan of Joshua Bell but didn't recognize him; he hadn't seen a recent photo, and besides, for most of the time Picarello was pretty far away. But he knew this was not a run-of-the-mill guy out there, performing. On the video, you can see Picarello look around him now and then, almost bewildered.

"Yeah, other people just were not getting it. It just wasn't registering. That was baffling to me.""

That guy was aware of what was going on around him, and let it affect him. Where I, most of the time in my day to day life, don't pay attention to what's going on, don't listen, don't look, I realize that I'm missing out. Maybe you are, too? What I know for certain is that I want to be like John Picarello.

Pearls Before Breakfast

2009-07-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Ever walked into a situation where something truly great was happening, you just missed it?

Here's a fantastic story with some great video to boot. It's an article from the Washington Post, from a great journalist (in my opinion) named Gene Weingarten.

Here's the URL:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html?referrer=emailarticle

Or click this link:

Pearls Before Breakfast

Joshua Bell is one of the world's greatest violinists. His instrument of choice is a multimillion-dollar Stradivarius. If he played it for spare change, incognito, outside a bustling Metro stop in Washington, would anyone notice?

This shook me up. Most people who've seen it comment that it's a shame so many people didn't take notice. I have a different take: I became emotional (cried happy tears, actually) when I saw someone recognize that what they were hearing was something special. A child cranes her head repeatedly, A man stops, bewildered and walks around aimlessly, then drops some change in the case, embarrassed. That stuff just messes me up, in the best way. The reason? I think that I'm surrounded by beauty most of the time, I just don't see it. It doesn't have to be a brilliant piece of music bya brilliant musician, I've had similar experiences by noticing wind through trees in a forest. I was 12 or so, and I remember it well, as though it was yesterday. I think that beauty is God's fingerprint on the world; His signature that reads "You are fearfully and wonderfully made, made in My image, and this gift is for you." When I do notice, it's often like I've been living life in an old black and white T.V, and suddenly stepped out to Blue Ray. I connect to God on a very deep level. You know, it's like that saying: "Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present." Just my take. Wow, I wish I was this enlightened more often. :)

New Paintings

2009-06-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

The Good Painting

2009-06-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

I want to say more with less.

Like a great speaker who speaks slowly, one topic at a time.

The painting has one beautiful moment, a focus that is simple and bold, that looks at first glance like something anybody can do, but one can tell the mark of a master, because everything around it compliments, doesn't compete, doesn't distract. It's like saying the perfect thing at the perfect time, in the perfect way, but that perfect thing is real and flawed, beautifully so. It's a single sentence by a small voice in the perfect acoustics of a vast, empty auditorium: a triviality, an indulgence, and maybe even futile. But somehow that moment is captivating. Captivating and valuable, like the kind of thing they make documentaries about. That humanism is an affirmation of being alive and experienced, of being human.

There is a blank canvas that will one day be that good painting.

The Creative Spark

2009-06-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

In the arts, there is no undisputed "best", but technical skill is something quantifiable, and most regular folks see people who can do realistic art as "the best" while laughing at modern, more mysterious art. Technical skill is always an asset, and the best artists always have great technical skill, but emphasis on technical skill is overrated, in my opinion. Why? The principal difference between a great artist and someone who can paint well is that the artist has the creative spark, the technician just has technical skill. Understanding what makes great art separate from good technical art is a fascinating pursuit; one that involves an open mind, education, and experience in the art world. But it's fun, and it's liberating.

Here's some golden nuggets I value:

The key to being a great artist is to know yourself. Oh, there it is. You bored yet? But it's true, and it's profound. If you don't know who you are, your work never really has an author! Why sign it? Who wants to buy some angst-ridden art from someone who doesn't know who they really are? Great artists are like great wine: We need time to mature. Of course, maybe I'm just speaking about myself? Hmn. Practically speaking, if you know yourself, it manifests as personal vision, as confidence, as a stronger mark, as a consistent body of work and not randomly creative.

Great art is like great writing or great music. It takes lots of practice and skill, but you don't always have to have something important to say, sometimes it's just the love of form, the act of painting or drawing that, with time and practice before it, produces something beautiful.

Great painting takes a great eye. Design and composition will destroy a painting that otherwise may have been drawn beautifully, or conversely can save a painting that has been drawn poorly.

Sometimes you don't know what your major masterpiece is going to be. Francis Bacon, for instance, started this one painting called "Painting 1946" for which he is quoted is saying:

"It came to me as an accident. I was attempting to make a bird alighting on a field. And it may have been bound up in some way with the three forms that had gone before, but suddenly the line that I had drawn suggested something totally different and out of this suggestion arose this picture. I had no intention to do this picture; I never thought of it in that way. It was like one continuous accident mounting on top of another."

Bacon's "Painting 1946" is generally regarded as his masterpiece. The guy just knew how to make a great painting, albeit in his own brilliantly twisted dark vision. He made it work, making it up as he went. That takes more than technical skill, that takes an accomplished sense of vision, the ability to improvise, and a great eye. The creative spark.

The creative spark is that energy that a creative artist has. It's the enegry that is restless, pushing the artist to shoot for something new and different, even if it's only new to the artist. Something challenging, maybe risky. Something of personal vision. The pursuit of a vision is found in the great moviemakers, who will taylor their amazing technical facility to make each scene work to the service of good storytelling.

Again, The creative spark is like a jazz musician who will sacrifice ego to create a performance that doesn't showboat individual ability, but makes the song work. Vision is the key. The big picture, where thought and idea are all, and technical abililty is only is a means to an end.

Artists with the creative spark are not technically minded, though they have technical ability in spades. They'll do whatever it takes to make the painting work. Sometimes that means plenty of time and effort while drawing on that technical facility, and sometimes that means throwing that technical facility to the wind. The important thing is that the painting "works".

That creative spark commands attention. It keeps people off guard, not knowing what to expect. There's a sense of excitement. The creative spark can take one to a place where technical skill is challenged. The improvization of a jazz musician like Miles Davis, for instance, may not always be a flawless performance, but it can reach brilliant hieghts unavailable to the trappings of technical proficiency alone, but wide open to the artist who knows who they are. An artist who can draw from personal vision and communicate that more essential humanism.

Robert Motherwell, that enigmatic and genius abstract painter, once said that even after a lifetime of painting, he could still do a bad painting. I love that. That's my kind of artist.

Latest Paintings

2009-06-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

My latest horse painting, this one has a more traditional brush technique:

My latest installment in the "Voices In Harmony" multipanel series:

And my latest abstract painting, titled "Through It All"

Liam Jones Fine Art on eBay
Liam Jones Fine Art website

Thoughts On Selling Out

2009-05-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

I met a Jazz afficionado here in Toronto the other day at a party. This guy runs a jazz show on our local jazz station. He really loves the music and it shows. Actually, it's infectious. I had a brief conversation with him.

I really hate small talk. Everyone has something unique and valuable, so why waste a potentially good talk on some random triviality. So through my socially trained head-nodding and "uh huhs", I started talking about painting. I said that I was concerned with selling out.

I commented that working a dayjob and being an artist as a hobbie are forms of selling out. I went on to say that "it seems like with great artists and musicians, there's two types: those who sell out and those who don't." To be honest, I hadn't really thought of it that way, it just came out. So this guy responded: "I'd say that there's actually about four different things that happen to professional musicians."

He went on to explain that some musicians, like one particular flute player he said was the best he'd ever heard-- took a dayjob but still practiced every day, and gigged on the weekends and that was not selling out. He was dedicated to his craft, just chose not to live off of it.

Then there were weekend warrior jazz musicians who treated it like hobbie. Then their were the people with a moderate level of expertize who practiced and played with various groups, and they were decent. Then then there are the musicians that are dedicated. That are hungry.

And that's when he said it:

"I've taken friends jazz club hopping and and they would see brilliant, seasoned jazz musicians. But they hadn't rehearsed. They'd just walk in the night of, on their experience, there for the $100 bucks, and the music wouldnt be tight. And then they'd see the young guys, not as skilled, but hungry. And these young hungry guys rehearsed all the time and that hunger and hard work came through in their music. These jazz fans said "I liked those younger guys more then the better, more seasoned musicians." Was it because the older guys had sold out? Well, no. They'd just stopped practicing and taking it seriously."

Man, it pays not to small talk.

So some thoughts on selling out: There are many ways to remain true to who you are, and produce great art, and there are many ways to prostitute oneself. There are those who get too caught up in the money, those who don't care about the money at all. There are those who have lost the love, and those who hold fast. Remaining true to your art means not losing focus, but being dedicated to making the best art you can.

So I'm not selling out. I'm hungry and dedicated, and hopefully that shows. Visit my website or eBay store to see what was and what's new and what's coming next, and see for yourself!

New Equestrian Painting

2009-05-19T17:22:00.001-07:00

"Running, Running"
©Liam Jones, 2009
Acrylic on Canvas
3 feet by four feet

Latest Painting: "Cathedral"

2009-05-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

This is my latest painting, now available in my eBay store: http://stores.shop.ebay.com/A-Gallery-of-Art-by-Liam-Jones

Liam's Choice Artists: The Art of Marilyn Kirsch

2009-05-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

Marilyn Kirsch is a gifted artist from New York, schooled in Boston, the wife of a Univeristy Professor. Her influences are Georges Seurat, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Robert Rauschenberg, Anselm Kiefer, sculture and architecture.

She's not quite minimalist, but has been called a lyrical abstractionist, which is a little difficult to pin down, depending on which art critic you're listening to.
From my understanding, Kirsch's art is "lyrical" due to surrealist leanings, its spiritual, metaphysical and meaningful content, its exploration of the world, ideas and its mindstates.

She's been one of my favorite artists for some time. Visit her website at http://www.marilynkirsch.com/

Latest Paintings

2009-05-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

This painting is titled "So Much Left unsaid".

And this painting is titled: "The Opposition's Intentions"

These paintings are cathartic! I call it my own personal art therapy. It reminds me of Bob Marley, what he said after he was shot. He said that he forgave them. And more, that he took a look at why these people did what they did and made a song of it. I say amen to that.

New Paintings

2009-05-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

These are my latest abstract paintings, now for sale on eBay.

If you like these abstracts or hate these abstracts, let me know! Leave a comment.

There are more to come.

Liam's Choice Artists: Cecily Brown: Gifted, Rude Painter

2009-04-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hard, Fast and Beautiful,
Oil on Canvas, 254 x 279cm2000
Cecily Brown

I've discovered a new favourite artist. I don't always have my eyes faced outward to see who's hot in the art world, but I suppose I should, especially if it's someone brilliant like Cecily Brown.

I've got to comment that I don't dig the pornographic content. Not that I have anything against women, or sexuality, but I do have something against porn. I'm a Christian, after all. I prefer a PG rating. This stuff is offensive in it's content. But it's Brown's delivery that is so compelling. Her skill is undeniable, and the viewing of her work is so engaging, it's hard to look away even though I'm staring at something lude. Something unredeemably and unrepentantly sinful.

Ah, that word "sinful". I can feel my inner mocker snickering.

Hold on while I jump up on my soapbox: It's a good thing to be sinful nowadays. Smoking pot, swearing, and in this case, explicit sex-- it's all a good thing. To most people. For instance, outside of my Christian circle, most guys love porn. Most girls, too. Porn stars are seen as completely liberated, and heralded as heroes, and even role models. There's no shortage of porn in art school. Art school is almost like a next phase of sex ed. Of course, all of this is wrong. It's the sign of the times, I guess. Maybe you disagree with me? Write a comment about it below. But I digress. I now jump down off my soapbox.

My favourite painting of Brown's that I've seen is "Hard, Fast and Beautiful" pictured above. I know, I know, call me a hypocrite, but hear me out: I love the work of Francis Bacon. I love modernist paintings, Manet, Van Gogh... I love photos blurred by movement. Cubism. I love sketchy work; work that don't tell the whole picture. Brown's work has something of all of these. It's like Brown is an amazing lyricist who swears during every otherwise great line. She's reached into a box of Lucky Charms and pulled out all the marshmallows. Mmmmn. Maaaarshmallows.

I love "Hard, Fast and Beautiful" for it's simpler composition. It somehow becomes bolder and showcases Brown's handling of the medium and how her mind works, which in my opinion, is borderline genius. Brown seems to have an infinite capacity for conveying much with very little. Most of Brown's works are very busy and full. I'm a minimalist at heart, so frenetic design is a bit of a turnoff normally, but not here. That being said, of course my favourite paintings by Brown remain the ones that say more with less instead of those saying more that's said with less, but there's more of it anyway.

This painting above is titled "New Louboutin Pumps." It's a great example of why I love Brown's work so much. I mean, look at this thing! It's loaded. It seems to reference Monet, or other Impressionaist painters and Francis Bacon. In addition to porn and voyeurism. I read that her dad was a great art critic, someone named David Sylvester, and she used to cruise galleries as a kid with Francis Bacon. I don't know. Don't trust everything you read online!

I find myself wondering how quickly does she finish one of these massive eye-epilipsy-causing, brain warping celebrations of hedonism? If I was a fly on the wall of her studio, what would I learn about painting? Does she think her way through so many moments of multiple angles, movement and distortion? Or does it just happen naturally? I hear she works on up to 20 canvases at one time. My kinda girl.

New Paintings Available

2009-04-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

A new painting of Jesus, using a wash/drip technique, lots of texture and subtractive painting techniques, glazes and lots of passion.

Here is a new 12 panel abstract, it's called "Dante's Garden". A very modern multi panel abstract painting in reds, browns and golds, A "zen" decorative painting.

And this painting is my most recent horse painting. Equestrian art seems to really grab people. I think it's great excercise to sketch and paint horses, it keeps me sharp. The light, textured format meshes modern art with traditional subject matter. I call it "Horses Breaking Away".

Art is something special. Like a parking lot.

2009-03-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

They say that art is the defining characteristic of being human. I’d like to say that love is a defining characteristic of being human, but that would be wrong, since it’s obvious that animals love as well. Ever seen a mother with her young? It doesn’t matter what species they are, that bond is obvious. Unless they’re hamsters and they’re scared. But that’s a different story. Not a good story.

I would say love is a defining characteristic of being alive. It’s got something to do with whatever makes the world turn, the sun burn bright, and the stars connect to us so ineffably. But I'm not talking about love, I'm talking about art.

Art is something special. Something human. At least I think so. And great art begins with seeing. See what I'm saying? Seeing is believing. See here. (sorry, I can't help myself.) It's fundamental, like reading is fundamental to being a writer. But seeing can be the biggest challenge an artist undertakes. One of the greatest achievements an artist can aspire to is, in my opinion, the ability to see. Sounds deep, huh? Well maybe it is, but if you're irreverant like me, you might ask:

“What about a blind person? Can a blind person see? Can a blind person be an artist, too, Mr. thinking artist guy?”

Of course I say, you contentious rabblerouser, but you don’t need eyes to see beauty any more than you need ears to hear music. Really? Wow. Case in point: Beethoven. Stone deaf, writing some of the most inspired music of all time. Don't tell me that guy didn't hear music, he just heard it from within instead of from out.

Seeing is where the artist taps in to who they truly are, and what their place in the world is. Seeing is a unique way of seeing the world. Seeing is the intangible attribute of a great artist. It can be destroyed by convention, by imposed ideas, by insecurity, in short, by a loss of connection to one's sense of self. It flurishes with openness, acceptance and encouragement. Once it's attained, it can make one stubborn, individualistic, full of ideas, and turning out great artwork.

I was once on a hike in a local park with a friend. I remember it well: I was taking in the beauty of trees, of leaves, of the smell of nature, the running streams. Very beautiful stuff. But then we came to a parking lot. It was old, big and abandoned. There was a factory on the far side of it. My first reaction: I wanted to go back into the forest. But then my friend, in his punk-rock attitude, sat down in the middle of this old parking lot. I played along. I sat down with him and looked around. It was boring. It was hard. It was flat. It was an afront to the beauty of nature. He was really enjoying it. I mean this guy was weird. Anyone who knows him thinks he’s weird. But I also knew that he was a really gifted artist. I respected this guy. He didn’t say a thing. It was some kind of reverential moment, and it was real. There were no drugs involved. Okay, I’m lying, there were drugs involved. We were in art school, long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away. Get over it. My friend was asking in his silence: “we’ve been checking out nature for hours, and it was beautiful, but do you see what I’m seeing, here, now?”

I started looking around. I shut my brain off. As best I could, anyway. Okay, I admit, part of my brain is always shut off. Don’t bug me. But I was in the moment. (There's your pop-philosphy catch-phrase for the day). It was cool. I noticed the aged, cracked cement, the infinite variations of grey and black with the vibrant contrast of bright yellow lines. The earth beneath heaved the stiff concrete surface in areas, and sunk others. Through the cracks plants defiantly grew and nature was slowly, inevitably taking it back. Then there was the solitude of it… It was truly beautiful. And I'm a bona fide tree-hugger, so that's saying something. I’ll never forget that moment; that empty parking lot.

The point is that sometimes great art begins by looking around you with a different attitude. Maybe you could see it like a child: open to the idea that life is beautiful because you don’t know any better. Or like some wise old sage: you know so much about life and all it's trouble that you just choose to see the beauty anyway.
There’s a real peace to that. It doesn’t matter if you’re a child, a sage, blind, on drugs, an animal, or a scared mother hamster. Well, okay, maybe that’s stretching it. But art really is something special, isn’t it?

Here is my latest Christian painting

2009-02-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

The subject of Jesus carrying the cross is something I'm exploring on an on-going basis. While I sharpen my technical skills, it's therapy, because He takes my troubles away with him. It's an act of devotion because it comes from the heart, not the intellect, though the intellect is engaged. I see him as a champion, not a victim. It's so much more than a guy carrying the instrument of His death. He embraced it. It was the culmination of His life's work and turned history on it's head.

The latest...

2009-02-24T19:02:00.000-08:00

2009-02-20T16:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some paintings, available for a limited time-- until they are sold!

Washroom Interview

2008-10-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

I was messing around with my artist's statement trying make it interesting. What I came up with was a script. It's completely imaginary. Okay, sorta. Imaginary.

It's a bit, uh, unprofessional for an artist statement, but I love it. It's me through and through. Though it may not measure up for my official artist's statement, it's perfect for my blog. Welcome to my inner world!

Warning! The following contains rude and odd subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.

Liam stands in the men’s room peeing. He is interviewing himself, dreaming of being a rich and famous artist.

Interviewer: What kind of painting do you do, Liam?

Liam: I do the kind of painting I like.

Interviewer: Okay then Mr. cryptic, what kind of painting do you like, then?

Liam: Allow me to answer your thoughtful question now, while I make sure I don’t step in any of this nastiness on the floor.

Interviewer: You’re making the nastiness worse.

Liam: (singing happily) Splish splash, I was taking a slash…

I like paintings that are full of improvisation. I like when a painting is taken to the place where it “works” and no further so it’s alive, rough and it has those unplanned-for happy accidents. If it’s not designed well, it’s just messy. But if those moments of happenstance are harnessed with design, there’s something divine that happens.

Interviewer: (snarky) Well, that sounds VERY ARTFUL.

Liam: You getting’ lippy with me?

Interviewer: Lippy? Who you callin’ lippy? I’m a professional.

Liam: You’re a figment of my imagination.

Interviewer: A professional figment of your imagination.

So Liam, what is your art about?

Liam: That question almost redeems your lippiness.

Interviewer: (Stepping out of the way) Hey, watch where you aim that thing.

Liam: (Laughs evilly) Shake it like a Polaroid picture…

In the broad strokes, my work is abstract. I do decorative, Christian and musical themes, and I’m modernist. I don’t like labels generally, but modernist is a term that definitely applies.

Interviewer: What does “modernist” mean?

Liam: It means modern: like ipods and Blackberries.

Interviewer: No it doesn’t.

Liam: No, it doesn’t. Sorry, didn’t mean to talk down to you.

Interviewer: I hate being talked down to.

Liam: You’re a very sensitive figment of my imagination.

Interviewer: I’m sensitive, and you’re going pee. Who knows who’s going to read this thing?

Liam: Modernist. Ah yes. Well, modernist means I make paintings that are intriguing in their own right, not because of what they illustrate. They’re happy being paintings and nothing more. Call them paintings without insecurity issues.

Interviewer: People love confidence.

Liam: Don’t they, though? (Looking around) There’s no toilet paper.

Interviewer: Oh crap.

Liam: Good idea. (Grin)

"If" That Poem Could Actually Happen

2008-10-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

"If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;"

This is an exerpt from "If". I used to read it on my grandma's fridge all the time, over and over. The words mezmerized me. They still do.

In painting, I meet with triumph and disaster daily. The creative process and the business of painting can be extreme experiences at times. The goal for me is just to stay steadfast.

Some days, getting out of bed is like being Wile E. Coyote falling from a mountaintop, smacking into a puff of dust on the ground.

But I get up, I thank God for the day, then curse as I walk to the bathroom, scratching myself. The dayjob is menial, but I'm thankful for it. All the crap going on around me takes it's toll, but whatever. I plod through. But when I walk into that studio, click on the lights and put on some Erik Satie, or Miles Davis, or pop music, or Elvis and start to work on a painting, I get lost. Art is like that sometimes for me: the focus is bliss. Thankfully, painting isn't just escapism; each successful painting is an arrow in the heart of my medioctrity. Each sale takes me one step closer to fulfilling goals. It's a big middle finger to the world that says "Artists never make money". Mwahahahahaaaa!

That poem on my gramma's fridge haunts my mind. Character is my greatest battle. (obviously.) Art and life are nothing in comparison. What really matters is being a man in the best sense of the word and being steadfast. Well, even if I never get there, (as though anyone really could!) Take what life dishes out and keep going.
Not triumphs nor disasters, ups nor downs, nor dreams, none of these are masters. Thinking is not an end unto itself, intelligence means very little... how much wisdom can be packed into one poem anyway? I'll have to thank my gramma when I see her next, on the other side. I bet she has a fridge there, too.

Liam
My eBay store
www.liamjonesfineart.com

What Is Art?

2008-08-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

“What is art?”

It’s great fodder for coffee talk. Maybe it’s a topic that’s only for art class. Art means nothing to most folk. Some think it’s nothing more than a distraction. Some think it's only for decoration. Some think art is only for the rich, or the intellectual, or the pretentious, or the gay.

“What is art?” is a question that affects every artist like the phrase “my toilet is clogged” affects every plumber.

But maybe you’re wondering what is art to me? Ooh, that’s an opportunity to wax poetic. That’s an interview question I rehearse when I’m going to the bathroom. What, you think I’m joking? Doesn’t every artist fantasize so?

In my imagination I picture it like this: When I’m a big shot intellectual artist celebrity rivalling George Clooney for the best dressed, an interviewer stays up all night sweating about what to ask me the next day. We sit there, faking comfortable. He’s trying not to sound stupid. I’m trying not to sound arrogant. And he says:

“What is art to you?” (Oh Liam, great genius artist?)

And I pause. Channel Leonard Cohen. Then I open my mouth and say:

“Art is what keeps me from killing people.” (No, no no!)

Rewind.

“Art is the reason I don’t kill myself.” (Na, too Van Gogh. And we all know where THAT ends.)

“Art is my talent that I won’t bury in the ground.” (You know, from the bible? Na, “talent” could be misinterpreted for, like, artistic talent when it really means money—which is like selling out, which is totally true but I can’t admit that, at least until I have the status of Andy Warhol…)

“Art is what brings me closer to God.” (Na, too Nine Inch Nails.)

“Art is the thought that needs to be completed by action” (Oooh, that sounds intelligent.)

“Art is my mental overflow.” (Now I’m getting somewhere. But not quite…)

I got it, here’s something from the news:

“Art is a giant, inflatable dog turd caught in the wind, destroying people’s property.”

It's a true story! Check out the article here. Or paste this url into your browser to go to the news: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2008/08/12/poo-sculpture-escape.html?ref=rss

Okay, that’s my blog for today.

Liam

The Reason I Paint

2008-07-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hello reader!

Thanks for your interest and for stopping by! This is the first blog I’ve ever
attempted. After much thought, I’ve decided not to use my blog as a journal or
as a place to rant, or as a personal exposé.

Instead, I have decided I would rather stay on point and talk about art, using
this blog to offer up thoughts that keep me inspired to paint.

Leonard Cohen once wrote a poem called “The Reason I Write”. When an
artist as accomplished as Mr. Cohen declares the reason he does what he does,
it will always make for good reading:

The reason I write
is to make something
as beautiful as you are
When I'm with you
I want to be the kind of hero
I wanted to be
when I was seven years old
a perfect man

who kills

Of course, with a title like "the reason I write", I'd expect the poem to say something like "I want to say something romantic or meaningful... I want to change the world... I like to play with words... etc", but the poem isn’t quite what I expected, it’s so much more, and a little, uh, special, being that he wants to kill somebody and all.

My point is this: This blog is about the reason I paint. I aim to make it good
reading and I’ll try to keep the violence to a minimum. ;)

Click here to view the eBay listing for my latest landscape

See my complete listings here

I've just opened a new .com website address that will soon replace www.liamjones.ca: www.liamjonesfineart.com

2008-07-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome to

Liam Jones Fine Art

Toronto Ontario, Canada.

Visual music, devotional, decorative,

portrait, figures, landscape,

realistic and abstract paintings

in Acrylic and Oil.

Paintings in many sizes and price ranges

http://www.liamjones.ca/

http://stores.ebay.ca/Liam-Jones-Fine-Art