Oct
10
2018
Aletha Jones
In many ways, I feel that I did not so much choose art as a career, but rather found it to be my unavoidable companion. It has always been such an integral part of my life that its continuation has been as natural as growing up itself. Although I initially began my graduate studies as an oil painter, I started experimenting with watercolor shortly thereafter, and have continued these explorations for more than thirty years. I have chosen watercolor because I find real joy in it. The ideas for my paintings have many different sources, but are always tied to emotional cords. At times they are a synthesis of my travels or of my whimsies and dreams. My work is generally figurative, often with my characters as the invented spell-weavers of my imagination. My paintings are created using watercolor pigments on heavyweight paper, generally rag Bristol Board. Before I begin each painting, I draw a series of sketches to develop my idea into a strong composition. I then draw this composition directly on to my painting paper. The pigments are applied in thin layers. The initial layers are applied very wet and allowed to dry. Then additional layers are applied using less water. I create the textural effects by sponging, blotting, and splattering the paint, as well as by using a conventional brush. The completed paintings are framed using acid-free materials. I create each painting entirely by hand, using no assistants and no digital or mechanical processes.