Bruce Jones
Watercolor and Sculpture
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I'm fascinated with the way our brains use clues of shape and texture to figure out what we are seeing. I explore patterns of these clues in my paintings and sculptures. I paint primarily in watercolor, ink and pastels because I have found I can move them around more quickly than oils, and get more color and texture variation than I can with acrylics. In contrast to most watercolorists, I like to use hard lines and strong darks in my compositions and I spend a lot of time working on textures. Since 2004 I have been using pastels over watercolor to accomplish special effects and textures.
Seascapes: I grew up spending a lot of time at beaches in Washington, Oregon and California. I like to dive for abalone, build sandcastles and driftwood houses, body surf and beachcomb. I like to paint the ways the ocean moves in patterns with rocks, sand and fog. Landscapes and Floral paintings: My father loved ornamental gardening and got one of my sisters and myself deep into it. I enjoy figuring out how the pattern identification works that enables us to differentiate plants at a glance. And I love the contrasts in colors and textures in a well designed garden.
People paintings: We are interested in human shapes and especially faces, because we are humans and we can't help it. We are very good at reading the languages of human gestures. Small changes in eyes, mouths and hands are interpreted immediately. These are the effects I'm exploring in my paintings of people.
Sculpture: I have done paper mache masks for decades and have been carving stone during 2005. Stone carving is becoming my consuming passion, probably because I had a good teacher, Robert Milholland from Little River. Robert teaches in the traditional Italian method using a hammer, chisels and rasps.
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Bruce Jones
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