Mediocre Art Is Better than a Good Job

Since my favorite (and only) social media outlet, Post.News, is closing, I’ve decided to start using my blogs as a place to deposit my work. No one reads blogs, really, but it’s better than taking a part-time job to remedy my occasional boredom. I restarted my love affair with art, in earnest, back in 2021,…

“Wodaabe Men”

I started painting in oils in early 2022, and although I’m not sure I’ve improved much, I am taking it more seriously. Here’s an effort from last year. “Wodaabe Men,” oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches, 2023, Bill Jones, Jr.

Finding Vincent Van Gogh

I’m not back on social media, but I wanted to share what I think is a cool “discovery” my wife and I made — a possible photograph of Vincent Van Gogh and his brother, Theo. Now, before I start, let me tell you the “facts.” One, there are a number of confirmed photos of Theo,…

Working in Monochrome.

Originally posted on Maria Jones-Phillips Art:
As an artist I usually prefer to work in colour. However, as with photography, when devising a composition, one of the important questions to ask yourself is: How do I best represent my subject? Sometimes, monochrome is a better fit. Let me explain why. Family – Graphite on bristol…

The Fallacy of Fiction

There is something unreal in the world of fiction. Now get me right; I’ve written fiction, so I understand that unreality is kind of the point. However, it sometimes leaves a plastic sheen that the producers of the work didn’t intend. Writers write too hard. Actors try to hard to achieve the beneath-the-nail grit that…

How to Add Layers into Your Writing

Reprinted with permission from thisblogblank.wordpress.com, 12/19/2018. After watching my wife work on a couple of her oil paintings, I’ve  come to realize that producing a work of fiction is very similar to creating a painting. Too many new writers have unrealistically low expectations about how good a first draft can be due to an overabundance…