Charley Jones is an expressive painter who studied art at Nottingham Trent University. Although Charley is currently based in the UK, he has spent part of his life in Colombia and has exhibited in exhibitions around the world. Charley is inspired by themes such as migration and escapism within our own environments.
1) Which art movement do you consider most influential on your practice?
Impressionist painting for the emotive brushstrokes and colour.
2) Where do you go and when to make your best art?
I am happy to work from home as sometimes I find studios can make me work mechanically to produce art whereas working from home, it comes from an emotional place. I love to paint early in the morning!
3) How do you describe your 'creative process'?
I create a lot of photography of friends, nature, skies, plants and people in movement. I sort through them and start placing them together changing a face to another setting from a different picture and I sometimes do minimal sketching. If I really resonate with the idea, I go straight to painting. I have recently switched from creating charcoal drawings as a starting point to now going straight in with oil paint after I’ve given the canvas several abstract layers of colour in acrylics.
4) Which artist, living or deceased, is the greatest inspiration to you?
Van Gogh.
5) If you weren't an artist, what would you do?
I love to work with community projects teaching capoeira (Afro Brazilian dance art). Everything I do relates to the arts one way or the other — it's all I know.
6) What do you listen to for inspiration?
I listen to music mainly a mix of Reggae and Latin music.
7) If you could own one artwork, and money was no object, which piece would you acquire?
Any of the giant water lilies paintings by Monet.
8) If your dream museum or collection owner came calling, which would it be?
I would like to show in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
9) What is your key piece of advice for artists embarking on a fine art or creative degree today?
Fall in love with your work and challenge yourself every day with it.
10) What is your favorite book of all time (fiction or non fiction)?
'Lust for Life' by Irving Stone (about Van Gogh).
11) If you could hang or place your artwork in one non traditional art setting, where would that be?
I would love to hang my paintings in a small traditional coastal village in South America.
12) What was the biggest lesson your university course or time studying taught you?
That simplicity and genuine inspiration from the heart is as or more important than an expansive concept.
13) And finally, if we were to fast forward 10 years, where would we find you?
I hope to be entering my work into regular gallery shows in London and international galleries and art fairs.
Learn more about Charley and discover his collection of paintings.
