We recently connected with Danny Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danny , thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

My first dollar ever earned as an artist/creative? That’s a tough one as our memories don’t serve us as well the older we get. Not positive it was the first one but definitely one of the first. Backstory first… This would be my senior year in high school where seniors had the option to take a ‘trade’ class through a program called R.O.P. (Regional Occupational Program). This program consisted of classes that included Auto Body and Paint, Banking, Graphic Design, Nursing, Printing, etc. For me the graphics class seemed like the obvious choice since by eighteen years old I was well into developing my artistic abilities. The class was held off of school campus about thirty minutes away, so I would leave for lunch and drive there with a friend Kathie who also attended the program but in a different class.
Mr. Walter Metcalf an older gentleman was the teacher of my class. At first he came off to me like a grumpy old man who didn’t have time to put up with any crap from anyone and he appeared to not be very ‘hip with the times’. Keep in mind I had some pretty wild hair down to the middle of my back so he probably had one look at me and thought sit down and shut up. I think half the students thought they could coast through this course by getting to leave school campus early and come doodle in this class. Turns out both Walt and I couldn’t have been more wrong. The other students equally as well. What I learned about him was quite the opposite actually. He had worked for companies like Disney and had a keen eye for design for sure. Not to mention quite the sense of humor to boot! What Walt learned about me was I may not have cared much for or done well with the academic side of education but when it came to Art I was there work. The class was informed at the beginning of the year that each student would have to research, locate, confirm and attend, towards the end of the year a four week internship of their choice related to the trade they are studying. At that point things got real and real quick! I didn’t know where to begin with that or where to even look. However throughout the year I was doing my best to prove to Walt what I was capable of and gain his respect in the process. Within a couple months the class had completed a few projects and these would be featured at ‘Back to School’ night. One of these projects we were instructed to get an unopened can of whatever like beans, corn, or soup and bring it to class. We were told to remove the label carefully to measure and then throw away. Now we were to create our own label of whatever we desired. I chose red jalapeño peppers. This is the assignment of mine that caught Walt’s attention and put me on his radar. He had mentioned to us during class before that his daughter who was following in his footsteps as an artist owned her own advertisement and design agency in just the next town over.
My father and I attended the Back to School night where we happened to meet Walt’s daughter who was also in attendance. Walter made sure to tell my Dad many times how impressed he was with my work. The following class Walt pulled me outside to talk. For minute I was worried as if I’d done something wrong. He said to me that he needed to do this in private to not upset the others or make them feel not included. Then he told me I did not need to search for my own internship as he and his daughter had selected me to do mine at her agency. I was absolutely relieved and shocked all at once. Wait though the story gets better. As I said before I would drive to this class with my friend. We shared the responsibility by each of us driving our car every other day. Wouldn’t you know soon after my internship started I got in my first automobile accident. My car was temporarily not operational. Since I would ride share getting to the school was not a problem but getting to my internship was a whole different story. I was so nervous to inform Walt I had no way of getting to the agency each day. The last thing I wanted to do was let the one guy down that was actually rooting for me at the time. I had no choice but to tell him. He came back to me the following day and said ‘don’t worry I’ve got it all worked out, you’re still going’. He arranged to have a substitute teacher sit with the other students at the beginning of class while he would drive and drop me off at the agency. Then again at the end of class when he picked me up and bring me back to class and my ride share home. So I had a lot of one on one time with him and got to know him much better. My initial impression of him had quickly changed. He sort of became this father figure to me in a way. I guess the moral of this backstory is never judge a book by its cover. You just never know right away why someone may cross your path in life. It could be a blessing in disguise.
Once the class finished up their internships with only a couple months left before the end of the school year, Walt announced our final project as well as exam for the year. The nationally recognized roadside assistance company AAA sponsors a national automotive troubleshooting contest annually at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Our assignment was to not only create a poster design to promote that year’s competition in 1990, but to also create the four color separation process needed for printing during that time. This was right before digital took over. There were submissions from students throughout the country for this poster design competition. The winner would be awarded $50. Needles to say with all this backstory here my design was chosen for that year and my art would promote the event. Plus I got paid on top of that. I couldn’t believe I had won!
As if there wasn’t enough icing on the cake already at that point, I was awarded student of the year in the Graphics Design graduating class ceremony. Now my Dad doesn’t getting too excited about much. Yet when they announced that at the end of the ceremony
I had never seen him jump up like that out of that kind of excitement for me ever. I can’t speak for anyone else but when you make either of your parents proud like that it’s priceless! To Walt wherever you are, thank you for everything Sir! I truly admire, love and respect you for everything you did for and taught me.

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.

I was born 1971 in Santa Monica and raised in Venice, California. Culturally a very broad area filled with colorful backdrops such as murals and graffiti. Something my eye caught on to at a very young age. Therefore I was artistic very early on in life. I would draw and paint just for the pure enjoyment of it. I would soon realize I could create pieces of art to give as gifts. Say to family like my Mom on her birthday or Mother’s Day. To see someone’s face light up when you give a gift of something you’ve created is just invaluable! Even as a teenager I would hang out at friend’s houses and if we were bored I would sit and draw. Whose ever house we were at would inherit the drawing. Some of those guys still have those drawings. I’d love to see them again! Opportunities soon started appearing for me to actually earn money from what I loved to do. Like the AAA poster I mentioned. I was soon doing logos for automotive shops, clinics, restaurants, salons and sports teams etc. As my love for music grew and my involvement in it as well, I was also designing CD covers, flyers and logos for the bands I was a member of. Later on I was asked by a close friend to paint a Pooh Bear mural on her baby nursery’s wall. That then ushered in a whole other business for me. I was doing murals for animal shelters, business window fronts, kid’s rooms and marquees. Sometimes high up on a forklift about 30 feet from the ground painting on the side of a building.
While lucky enough to have these jobs they weren’t always enough to pay the bills so I sought after a job in the printing industry. I started as film file clerk then on to a proof and plate maker for the printing press. I did that for about 10 years before landing in a publishing company as an in house graphic artist for 3 years. I dealt with all the images in the companies books and journals. Needless to say it was mind numbing to say the least. Soon after I was hired by a competitive grocery store Trader Joe’s where I would spend the next 13 years. One of main duties there was head of the in store art department for my location. They are known for their extravagant pricing signage that graces the stores shelves and end of isle displays. I loved this job and most of the people I worked with and so many of the customers. However due to injury from long term physical repetition I could no longer perform all of my other duties and moved on from there in 2017.
That’s when things changed drastically in my life. I felt a bit displaced and uncertain of what I was suppose to do next with my life. I knew I loved art and music and was tired of working to help someone else get rich. Plus now I had physical limitations of what I could do to earn a living. Yet I had a child and wife to care for. It felt as if the pressure was on at that point. Among many of my art endeavors I painted a poster size 18” x 24” colorful collage of Jimi Hendrix which I received a couple of awards for during my senior year in high school. My wife Samantha brought up this painting to me at the time since I had it framed and hanging in the house. I had also told her before that one day I would love to do a series or collection of these types of works. So she looked at me and said what are you waiting for? There is your answer right there. Wouldn’t you know she was right! I started creating these pieces that were of famous people throughout popular music’s history. Being inspired while growing up by artists such as Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí and Ansel Adams, I set out to create a collection that celebrates and features those influences. By combining monolithic images derived and influenced by images of popular icons through music history from the 1920s to present day, with colorful and sometimes bizarre backgrounds that speak to the times, subject matter, historical social climate, or the person themselves and where they originate from. Most of these are also poster size 20” x 30” and mixed media in their composition. I use acrylic and watercolor paints, airbrush, standard brush, pencil, pen, marker, prisma color, and so on. I use whatever it takes to achieve the desired effect I am going for. I sell prints in all sizes of all my pieces at…DJonesArtCollection.com
You can find my other social media at…
@djonesartcollection
I’ve also had the privilege of participating in a few art exhibits along the way which I’m very grateful for. Always an honor to be invited to those!
I more recently started doing commissioned tattoo artwork for people’s personal memorials to loved ones and family pets. My wife and her sister Amanda share the same piece on their right forearms I did for them inspired by ‘Alice in Wonderland’. I was also invited to illustrate a book that a dear friend is in the process of writing. I’ve been working on that most recently.
I have always loved photography as well. Over the last several years I started dabbling in that in addition to my other work. So I decided to create an Instagram page for that also. You can find that at…
@djones71photography
I also have a podcast which I co-host, record and produce with my wife for the last four years called ‘Spiritual Philos-O-Chatter with the Joneses’ that can be found on all major platforms by searching @spiritualjoneses
We also have a discussion group on Facebook for this which just absolutely awesome! The people and participation is just wonderful. Thank you everyone!
My wife also has a weekly one hour live internet radio show on VoiceAmerica.com under the empowerment category titled ‘Beyond the Bridge with Samantha Jones’ that I had the honor and privilege of writing and recording the introduction music to. It airs every Wednesday at 10am-11am. All previous episodes are there to download also. Have a listen, she’s awesome!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I absolutely love this question! You bet there are resources, not so much that I wish I knew about but that were available to me at the time. Again the digital age has brought in a flood of technological advancements that I wish I had at my disposal early on in my life, artistic development and career. As well as a business owner too. I think we all have the internet and social media to thank for that. The ability to market and promote your work practically for free is an invaluable resource. Then there are other pages like YouTube another great resource, where one can learn about so many things like achieving certain techniques through other people’s tutorials. That’s what it’s all about really, sharing with one another knowledge, ideas, and composition. Then in turn it influences one another to have an affect on each other’s compositions. It’s a cycle and that’s why we’re all here together, to grow, learn and share together. With the technology advances in the late 80s and 90s printing became much more accessible to the everyday person. You could get quality prints without having to pay huge ‘press time’ costs and no minimum orders. For me this was an amazing resource since I don’t sell my original paintings at this point in my career. I was able to find an excellent printer close enough to me that provides me and my clients with high resolution and quality prints at any size of all my collection on my website.
As much as I love film, tape and the analog world digital cameras are just one of the greatest inventions and resources to have. The quality even on the iPhone, which is what I use mostly, is just incredible. You can edit right there in your hand. There is no setting up a tripod stand and there are no film, dark room or developing costs which makes it even better. Not to mention the outcome of your picture does not lie in the hands of some person in one of those tiny ‘PhotoHuts’. Again nothing against film I love the look of it for sure. However taking photographs can often be a spontaneous thing. Have it right there in your hand at any given moment is perfect.
Social media groups and other apps like TikTok are another wonderful resource to have. Being able to connect with other artists, creatives, musicians, photographers and likeminded people around the globe is just absolutely awesome. I get so much inspiration from so much of it! The days of book shelves loaded with font books, clip art binders, and magazines for inspiration are long gone, thank goodness. Bye…The future is now!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I honestly can say there isn’t one aspect that is more rewarding than the other when it comes to being an artist/creative. There is so many parts that are equally rewarding really. First of all I get to express myself through different mediums like art, music and photography. I basically get to say and show how I feel, what I believe and who and what I love and respect through this expression of my work. It in itself is very freeing!
Secondly I get to give back to the humanity and society that has given to me first. To be able to evoke emotions in people and move them through memories is very gratifying for me. It connects me to not only friends and family but total strangers. I recently had a young lady order a print of my Bruce Springsteen painting ’The BOSS’ solely because her deceased father loved him. They would watch his videos and concerts on television together and he would share stories with her of seeing him at live performances. She wanted a print just because of those memories. I love hearing those kind of stories from clients. I can get choked up just feeling how rewarding that is to know I can bring peace to someone I don’t even know with my art hanging in their home. So thank you to her and all the others out there!
I would say lastly one of the most rewarding part of doing this work is not working for the ‘man’ so to speak! There is no superior looking down on me watching my productivity and grading me in some review process. There is no time clock to punch in and out of. I have only myself to contend with. Then It’s only up to me at this point if I sink or swim. Considering I’m still going I suppose that is yet to be determined. One thing is for sure and that is I will do this as long as I can do this and will never give up or quit. I simply cannot or will not as being an artist/creative I have to be creative for my own physical and mental well being. It is who I am and a large part of my genetic makeup. Essentially it is in fact what I was born to do with my time on this beautiful planet.

Contact Info:

• Website: DJonesArtCollection.com
• Instagram: @djonesartcollection @djones71photography
• Facebook: @djonesartcollection

Image Credits
Samantha Jones