Jeffrey Jones: A Life In Art (book review).
Getting hold of ‘Jeffrey Jones: A Life In Art’ as a sample of his/her work was tough enough and this was a second edition. With this book, Jeffrey Catherine Jones (1944-2011) explained in his own words his history and transgender issues. I’m going to stick to the feminine pronoun from here in. It gets confusing otherwise.
Jones was also a Science Fiction fan who made money selling fantasy paintings and illustrations. Her preference was for thinned oils because they dried slowly enough for him to blend. She describes watercolour as controlling an accident which seems rather apt if the colours run together. With this book, you do see plenty of examples of her work in both pencil and oil and end up agreeing with Jones in that her work evokes emotion.
Although she wasn’t keen on backgrounds, Jones saw them as part of the whole piece. A look at ‘Blind Narcissus’ demonstrates as much detail compared to some where less is enough. In other words, Jones worked for what was needed in a piece of art. As she reveals, she eventually moved away from doing cover art, fed up with art directors wanting minor changes which meant complete repainting.
Looking up Jones’ books on-line, most are high-priced that makes me wonder why more economical editions aren’t out there to attract more fans to her work. It isn’t as though Jones wasn’t prolific both as a cover artists and an illustrator.
This is the first time I’ve seen Jones’ work as a collective and its easy to see why her work draws (sic) fans. Her work is evocative from linework to colour , they are inspirational.
GF Willmetts
July 2020
(pub: IDW, 2011. 364 page illustrated large hardback. Price: I pulled my copy for about £27.00 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-60010-737-5)
check out website: www.idwpublishing.com
