Computer Arts - UK (2019-11)

NOVEMBER 2019

own boss. It can sometimes be very

hard, complicated and stressful. You

have to stay motivated and work 24/7.

There also seems to be an extreme

saturation of art out there, good

art, and it sometimes feels daunting

to stay relevant or hip to what’s

happening. All that being said, being

a creative during this time period

is really fun. There are no rules

and the second you think there are,

someone comes along a blows those

old ideas away.

If you choose this line of work,

it doesn’t hurt to have a spouse that

has a ‘normal’ job that can help when

times are tough... because believe

me, times get tough.

I suppose it’s the nature of the game.

Tell us about your recent exhibition,

Country, in New York City

I only made six new works, all very

large, compared to the 15 to 25

various-sized works I have made for

older solo shows. It was a very big

step in the evolution of my ‘figure/

form’ work. For one, I introduced

landscapes, something I have never

painted in my professional career. In

fact, the last landscape I painted was

in my sophomore year of college.

Another big change were the

shapes and the figures themselves. In

the past the shapes would decorate

the figure like a fashion illustration.

Now the shapes have taken on a

physicality, a weight, something

tangible. They have become the

figures, taking on a Picasso-esque

quality. The faces are also more

animated than my past work,

pushing narrative to a degree I had

yet to pursue – though I wanted the

viewer to decide the narratives on

their own. The titles of each painting

are just names of random people,

mainly to withhold any description of

the art that would guide the viewer.

How do you see your career

evolving in future?

I’m not exactly sure... I’m not

planning anything out past 2020 yet.

I’m letting the creative winds carry

me where they will.

Photoshop and play around with the

image until a new idea emerges.

For example, let’s say the painting

needs different colours or I need to

change the shapes up. I’ll do this

in Photoshop first, experimenting

with colours and new forms until

something new or fresh reveals

itself. Once I have a new idea I’ll spin

my laptop over to my painting area

and try to mimic what I did on the

computer traditionally. This process

goes back and forth for some time

until I’m happy with the results.

You started out in magazine covers.

Do you still do commercial work?

I’ll occasionally do illustration,

but it’s not something I desire to

do unless the concept fits my own

aesthetic necessities. The problem

I have with illustration is the lack

of free will involved in the process.

I seem to do my best work when

it’s more spontaneous and without

many boundaries. This can make

commercial work difficult for some

clients. But again, if the job fits and

the clients understand my work then

I’m game for commercial work.

I suppose my most recent

commercial work has been murals,

which is a mixture of my ‘fine art’

and the client’s needs. These were

really fun to do, but I have to admit

I’m terrified of heights and painting

six storeys up on a shaky lift is quite

an experience. I definitely prefer the

safety of my own studio, but the

thrill of painting that large is just too

good to pass up.

You’ve exhibited around the world.

What do you like most, and dislike

most, about putting on art shows?

I might have the best job in the world

(for me)! Working in gallery gives

you limitless creative freedoms. It

also enables you to travel all over the

world. If I had to come up with some

negative aspect about being a gallery

artist it wouldn’t involve the gallery,

but more about the difficulties of

working for yourself. I think the

most challenging part about being

self-employed is just that – being your

Jones’ works
explore different
ways of combining
photorealistic
figures with
colourful, graphic
forms: (clockwise
from top left)
Figure White
Ground; Shadow;
City; Bloom.

COMPUTERARTS.CREATIVEBLOQ.COM

ERIK JONES

I really don’t care if art is painted

realistically, if it’s abstract, or digital,

collage, video, or uses photos. If the

work is compelling, I’m into it!

Good art, to me, is when the

work clearly shows the context

of the media seamlessly working

with the concept or idea of the art.

That is, the idea and execution are

coherent. I also like the work to be a

bit challenging, usually aesthetically;

something unique. But more than

anything, I want art to be beautiful

in some way. That’s just me, though.

Where does your inspiration tend

to come from now?

My current main influence is the

internet. My mornings consist of

digital photo hunting and gathering,

finding and saving anything that

sparks an emotional response from

me, from landscape paintings to

hentai pornography. Anything

visually stimulating gets caught by

my screenshot key and saved.

What does your process for

planning a new artwork look like?

It all begins on the computer after

a photoshoot with a model. I use a

Wacom to sketch my ideas digitally.

Sketching for one painting usually

takes a few days. From there I create

digital colour studies. The process

continues until I have the painting

planned out digitally, though this is

just a jumping-off point.

Where do you go from there?

Once I have the figure and shapes

how I like them, I transfer a line

drawing to paper, canvas, or even a

wall. If it’s a very large work, I’ll use

a projector or an older graphic sign

painting method of stencilling. If it’s

a small work then I can simply print

the line drawing.

Once I have the line drawing on

a painting surface I’ll block in the

shapes and figure with watered-down

acrylic and pencil. I refine the figure

and shapes until I hit a wall (which

seems to be part of the process). I

then photograph the work in its

unfinished state, export the image to