Meet Nan Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nan Jones.

Hi Nan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I create art because it brings me joy. From my early childhood, I experimented with methods and styles of creating and can still remember the way it made me feel the first time I used oil pastels — the way they effortlessly slid across paper felt like magic. Throughout my childhood and into my adolescence, I was consistently enrolled in art classes through school, took private lessons, and attended every kind of art camp you can imagine. I found I thrived most in a creative environment.

Now a full-time artist, I continue to feel most alive when I am creating. When I approach a blank canvas, I do not have a plan or an ending in mind. I let my hands flow, starting with a limited color palette and working in more unexpected colors as I go. Texture and layering are the cornerstones of my work. I don’t shy away from large amounts of paint and love to mix graphic elements with slightly chaotic ones to achieve the look I want.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say the biggest thing I have struggled with since putting my work out into the world has been vulnerability. You are essentially “baring your soul” and that is quite a daunting feeling, at times overwhelming. Of course, you want everyone to love your work but I am fully aware that that is unrealistic.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an abstract expressionist painter. Texture and layering are the cornerstones of my work. When I approach a blank canvas, I do not have a plan or an ending in mind. I let my hands flow, starting with a limited color palette and working in more unexpected colors as I go. I don’t shy away from large amounts of paint and love to mix graphic elements with slightly chaotic ones to achieve the look I want.

I am forever inspired by the sky, particularly cloud formations. The fact that the clouds perpetually change shape, color, form, etc. never ceases to amaze me.

I want my art to evoke emotion; happiness, joy, a sense of calm, anything. I feel that if art “stirs” something in an individual, the artist has succeeded.

One of my favorite aspects of being an artist is taking the “creative energy” flowing around in my brain and putting it onto canvas. It is a form of meditation for me. When I paint, I am in a zone. Just knowing I can take all the noise in my brain and channel it through my brush makes me feel so fortunate.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
There are so many things I love about Raleigh!! Top of my list is our food scene….we have some of the most amazing restaurants and new ones continue to crop up and I am here for it!!!!

I am not a fan of all of the traffic we are experiencing due to all of the construction.

Contact Info:

• Email: hello@nanwjones.com
• Website: www.nanwjones.com
• Instagram: @nanjonesart
• Facebook: Nan Jones Original Art

Image Credits
Katherine Johnson Photography