Jerry didn’t take formal lessons until he returned home from the Navy in 1973. He had a full ride with the G.I. Bill but no idea what he wanted to do with his life. “My older brother teased me saying I had no marketable skills, so I majored in the only thing I knew I had talent for, art.” It was while in college that he developed a love for painting. Life, work and raising kids took him away from art for several years. In 2000 he was commissioned to do a mural in Columbus, Mississippi. He spent the next three years painting over 1,000 square feet of walls with a palette knife. Since completing that work, he hasn’t let life interrupt his desire to create. His “day job” has moved him around the country, and while living in Montana, he was drawn back into the world of wildlife art. Now back in his native South, Jerry has found a fascination with the various flora and fauna of the Louisiana bayous.
“This is a beautiful world we live in. I am awestruck by the design, texture, color and emotion that I see and feel in creation; the raw power of a fast approaching thunderstorm; the constantly changing light and color of an old Tom turkey in full strut; the drama of shape and form of almost anything that throws off an interesting drop shadow. Did I mention color? If I could be outdoors every day, I would. I would walk for days into the wilderness or just sit for hours taking in the beauty of it all. That’s why I like to draw and paint wildlife. I like what I see out there and I want to take a piece of it home with me. I start out by saying, ‘Good job, God. But, how did you do that?’ Then I try to capture the essence of what He has already produced, first in my heart and head, then on paper, panel or canvas. During that process is when creating begins. We all have some of the Creator’s nature within us, and my “spark of the Divine” leads me to venture off the natural course as I follow the shapes and colors on the canvas. When I finish a piece it feels like a small miracle. And then I begin to think to myself, ‘Not the best you can do, Jones’ and I start all over again.”
Jerry received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Southern Mississippi with emphasis in Drawing and Painting. He has displayed his work at Southern Breeze Art Gallery, in Jackson, MS (2001 to 2004), the Paradise Gallery, in Gardiner, MT (2008 to 2009), Carbon County Arts Guild and Depot Gallery, in Red Lodge, MT (2006-2009), and currently is a participating artist/member of the Ouachita River Art Gallery, West Monroe, LA. Jerry has been accepted in the following juried exhibits: 2008 Rocky Mountain Regional Juried Exhibition, 2008 Arts in the Beartooths, and the 2007 Yellowstone Art Museum Small Works Exhibit.
The Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe, invites you to come see this special show of Jerry’s work during the entire month of August. When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 for more information.
