My wife knows I don’t want a funeral when I die, but should she survive me, and I hope to God she does, it will be up to her. Funerals aren’t for the dead; they’re for the living. Instead of a bunch of words, I’d rather people just hear and see … me. Not my…
In 1968, music producer Carl Davis gathered a group of session musicians and laid out a track written by Eugene Record and Sonny Sanders called “Am I the Same Girl?” The song was accompanied by lead vocals provided by Chicago native and Brunswick Records recording artist, Barbara Acklin. Barbara’s vocals were not to Davis’s liking,…
Even though few people ever read this blog, and though we’ve stopped regularly posting to it for years, I believe keeping a live conduit to art is more important than ever. Put simply, Earth culture sucks. That being true, I will attempt to reinstate something I was doing years ago: Days of Art. That is…
There has long been a debate on when photographers should shoot in black and white (bw) versus color. This is particularly true with respect to street photography, since many old shooters have held loud biases against shooting color. Before we debate the merits of their arguments, we need to understand a bit of history. For…
In addition to painting versions of my and my wife’s photos, I’ve begun a series wherein I do an interpretation of photographs taken by renowned street photographers. I don’t usually have a predetermined approach to them. I really just start sketching (or painting without a formal sketch) and seeing where they take me. The results…
I am not a trained artist. I am a photographer and a novelist. Painting is a retirement hobby. I do have, however, an artist “wife coach.” Seeing her paintings develop and seeing mine are two different experiences. Maria’s paintings bloom like flowers in early June. You can tell from the start they’ll be lovely, you…
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,…
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.
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,…
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 Artists' Sanctum 