Today we’d like to introduce you to D.R. Jones.
Hi D.R. Jones, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in a small city on the Texas High Plains. It was surrounded by cotton fields, but was also a college town. This dichotomy of rural life vs. college culture would later be an influence on my artwork.
I first discovered “fine” art many years ago in the galleries of Santa Fe, which is not far from my hometown. I fell in love with the bold, Expressionist work of artists such as John Nieto. After years of emulating these artists, I began trying to tell my own tale; which begins with my town-and-country childhood, is flavored by a rock-n-roll counter-culture sensibility, and finally is tempered with an evolving social awareness.
As my style evolved, I began to concentrate on portraits and two themes emerged – Legends and Cowgirls.
The Legends series pays homage to iconic personalities from music, theater, and other creative fields. In this series, I’ve offered my interpretation of rock and roll stars, Native Americans and Hollywood celebrities. It’s my way of recognizing people who lived their life with purpose and left their mark on their time and place.
The Cowgirl series is, well… cowgirls! It’s my portrayal of the strong, often challenging, women I was fascinated with while growing up on the Texas Plains. There’s a saying I heard as a kid that says that Texas women shoot their own snakes. Meaning that these women are strong and confident and they can take care of business for themselves, thank you very much!
My new work extends the themes of Legends and Cowgirls in a slightly different direction. These paintings use a reduced, almost monochromatic, palette for more emotional impact. The series is called “Cutting Through the Static”. These portraits look kind of scratchy and ill-defined; a metaphor for these times where social media static fills our days and truth is only a fluid, situational concept. It’s as if the subject is coming into view on an old-school static-filled TV.
The title of the series is from a song by State Champs.
If only we could wait for the truth
When you know it’s not so dramatic
Let’s cut through the static
This new direction continues my travels down the path to the perfect image. But it’s OK if I never get there, because the journey is what I love.
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?
As the John Lennon song says, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans”. So, my journey from art lover to art creator took many detours and wrong turns. The biggest obstacle to overcome was friends and family telling me I wasn’t very good and should just give up. (They were more tactful than that, but that was what they meant.) Admittedly, they weren’t wrong. I wasn’t very good when I started. But I kept at it and I got better.
I’ve often said that I have more determination than talent. That determination has served me well. At the last show I participated in, one of my pieces was named “Best Of Show”. Very gratifying. I’m glad I didn’t give up all those years ago.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For me, art is an effort to communicate. Georgia O’Keefe, the iconic Southwest artist, once said “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for”. Each painting I do is an attempt to share a feeling or tell a story using color and form instead of words.
Most of my work now is portraits, portraits of people famous or otherwise. When I paint a celebrity, I try to represent the attributes that made them good at what they do. Even when portraying someone I don’t know, I imagine a backstory for them and try to incorporate that into the painting. If I can get the viewer to have a non-verbal interaction with the person that they are seeing, then I’ve succeeded.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
My work is currently on view at:
Wimberley Glassworks 6469 RR 12, San Marcos, TX
Helotes Gallery 14391 Old Bandera Road, Helotes, TX
And, I’ll be showing my work at:
Art Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM July 11-13, 2025
Pricing:
- 16X20 acrylic on canvas $450
- 24X24 acrylic on canvas $850
- 30X30 acrylic on canvas $1,450
- 30X40 or 36X36 acrylic on canvas $2,850
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.red-hand-art.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d.r.jones_art/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drjonesWimTxArt
