We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anthony Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Anthony thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

The short version of me learning how I learned to do what I do is one night in 2008, I was in 9th grade at the time. I didn’t really have that many friends then. I spent a lot of time on the computer. I found some fanart of Disney “Gargoyles” and I thought to myself, “wouldn’t It be cool to recreate this?”. So I printed the image of “Brooklyn” the gargoyle out and sat it side by side to my sketchbook and started sketching away at it! It took me a couple of hours to finish, and then I took It to my mother and showed her before she was getting ready for bed. She said “Wow, this is really good, you should keep at this and see what else you can do!”. Soon after I was sketching all the time, I’d even skip lunch at school most times to sit and draw. The repetition of it helped me get better and better each time. Each time I drew I was learning something that I missed from the previous drawing before far as proportions, shading, and color. Fast forward to 2015, I was on a date at painting with a twist and it was my first time ever painting with acrylics. I had really enjoyed myself so much, I went to Michaels arts and crafts store the next day and bought whatever I could get my hands on! I have been painting ever since! I think If I could know then what I know now, It would have been to outsource more to art communities, I think the most essential skills were sketching/drawing, because its the foundation of everything you do in art! “You have a creative Idea?”. You have to sketch or draw it out first. “You want to sculpt something?”. You have to start it on paper first, then you can bring it to life. Without knowing how to draw or sketch, its harder to execute a creative idea! I eventually gained more friends was going out more and doing more things, These things were great and I didn’t feel so alone anymore, but I had no mentor or anyone to turn to when it came to art. I think If I would have focused more on getting around people that did what I did. I think that It would have helped me more. I was too focused on fitting in, when I was meant to stand out.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

So I am currently a full time delivery driver for Fedex Express. I love my job, the people I work with and the work culture.
I love it there but Im always thinking about art and how to bring it to life! I started posting my art online back in 2010 just sketches, graffiti, portraits etc. I didn’t start taking it more serious until about 2018, I had upgraded some of my materials and equipment. I didn’t realize how much people liked my art until I started getting direct messages online from people asking, if I did customized pieces. I can do a lot of different variety of services. I specialize in portrait on canvas, but I can do murals, hats, shoes, sketches, superheroes, cartoons, calligraphy, portraits of pets, etc. It solely depends on what the client wants. The more descriptive and references their are, the better the finalized product! I entered the Anton Art Center Michigan Annual Art Exhibition back in 2019 & 2021. I am the most proud of getting into two different exhibitions of theirs and making top 50 out of 300 other artists in the U.S that competed. What made it even better was that I was from that small town Mt. Clemens, Michigan(tear). When that happened, even If I did not win anything(which I did not lol) It Is okay though, It was validation for me to keep going and that someone can see my skills and put me up their with other amazing artists! I am also most proud of just being able to watch countless videos on certain techniques and teach myself. I might understand something on the 3rd or 4th try. Sometimes, It may take 20 times, but eventually I’lI get It or come back to it when I finally understand how to do it. Thats the type of ambition and passion I have for the arts. I’ll always want to know more or how to get better at my craft, the inspiration never stops! I want potential clients/followers to know that every piece of artwork that has ever been bought or just inquired about has brought so much wholeness to me because it means that Its speaking to you in some type of way.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I would like to brand out and eventually come out with a clothing brand with my art style or do coloring/children books/calendars. My dream is to own a gallery one day and curate shows for upcoming emerging artists or even do classes for the youth on select days. I’m still figuring things out like everyone else but, overall I just want to create a safespace for everyone to experience and express themselves. I would also like create or donate to a charity that is specifically for youth in art programs, funding college or materials, whatever they need to help their dreams come true. Everyone has a dream, and its never too late to make them come true.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I did not foresee the next year of events that would drastically change my life! It all started in September of 2019, my dog wasn’t doing to well and I took her to the Vet. It turned out that she had to undergo surgery & would costs thousands of dollars. I couldn’t save her. Then in October, My uncle had passed away. Then In December of 2019, I was laid off from my job. For the first two months of 2020 I tried to start working back at painting with a twist By the first week of March 2020 It would come to an end because the virus that we all know now to be “Covid-19” had started taking over. The pandemic had put me back on unemployment. I spent a lot of time at home creating and taking care of my father. He had congestive heart failure and his kidneys were failing as well. I was taking care of a lot during that time, paying our bills, doing our grocery shopping, cleaning the house, looking after my other elderly dog, taking my dad to his doctor appointments. I was posting a lot more to my social media during that time. Expressing myself through art online was the only outlet I had! I received a lot of messages left and right about customized pieces to do. Any extra money I needed to take care of things, God had made a way for me! Even though God made a way, I lost a lot. It all started happening so fast. One of my dads closest friends had passed away In May of 2020. He took it really hard. They were best friends for over 30+ years! I was in denial of my fathers health declining and the toll this death would take on him. I delved myself into my artwork when not occupied with errands or taking a break to go see friends to hangout. It was so much death around me at the time, I needed a break. Shortly after, I stayed at a friends house one night just to take a breather. In late July, I got a call from my brother, the next morning to go check on my father, My gut instantly dropped, racing to our house. I knew something was wrong. I found him, he had passed in his sleep. I never really got to grieve his passing, Their was no life insurance policy so we had to come up with majority of the funeral costs. We had a private viewing/funeral service, and he ended up being cremated. In September of 2020 I found out the house we were renting would go up for sale and I had to be out by March 2021. I had 6 months to go through all of his things and sell or get rid of it. I also had to find work because unemployment was running out. I got a job with Fedex in November. Shortly after, another blow to me, my other dog that I had since 8th grade, was now 16 years old, I had to put her down in the middle of December. She could hardly walk or let me know when she needed to use the bathroom. Even though, this was one of the hardest times of my life. The pain created so much art for me. It pushed my creativity and ideas to the next level! I pushed through and In January of 2021 I got featured in the Anton Art Center Exhibition. Honestly, I’m still pushing through, grieving and healing. Its all apart of life though. Everytime you heal, their will always be another level of healing to elevate to the next stage. My dad was my best friend, he helped me with a lot of my art, down to the colors and concepts, I wish I still had him here to converse with sometimes, Not even just art, but life. I feel lost without him sometimes. My dad used to tell me all the time “Don’t be like me, Be better then me! Your just touching the surface son, Keep God first and keep going!”. I wish he was still here to see how far I’ve come! I hope I’m making him proud of me. I’m still putting God first, I hope my art offers a sanctuary to the broken and uninspired.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/_vinjonesart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vin.jones
• Other: https://Tiktok.com/@_vinchenzo

Image Credits

Anthony Jones