Erik Jones is a fine artist whose works owe a lot to the world of graphic design. His highly recognisable output combines strikingly accurate figure painting and vibrant, non-representational graphic forms. He’s equally experimental with media – a typical artwork might require everything from oil paints to a Wacom tablet and an airbrush.
Jones is now based in Brooklyn, and creates fine art for galleries all over the world, including a recent New York exhibition that saw him push his style into previously unexplored territory. We caught up with him to learn how he found his aesthetic, the realities of being a professional artist nowadays, and how a Photoshop class changed his life forever.
Tell us a bit about your artistic background. What did you study at Ringling College?
My professors were mostly illustrators who were very tech-savvy. Along with traditional painting and drawing classes I was forced to learn digital art. (When I started my first day of college I didn’t know how to turn on a computer.) I wasn’t a fan and remained stubbornly ignorant towards art on the computer.
There was also an Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop design class where I first discovered graphic design. I’m trying not to sound too dramatic about it, but it changed my life. It changed how I viewed and created art.
How did you develop your current painting style?
After college I focused on developing my figure-painting skills. My influences at the time, mostly being graphic design and abstract art, led me to introduce geometric/colourful shapes to my paintings.
Esta historia es de la edición November 2019 de Computer Arts - UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición November 2019 de Computer Arts - UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Creative Space
Without’s creative director roly grant on the studio’s hand-crafted ethos
studio profile
A leading light in the branding industry, Wolff Olins wants to harness its scale to help change the world
network
THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY HAS COME TOGETHER LIKE NEVER BEFORE, TO HELP EACH OTHER GET THROUGH THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
project
ethos for 305 Fitness - Learn how the Montreal identity design studio rebranded one of America’s hottest fitness clubs
rebrand
WHAT’S THE EXPERT OPINION ON PENTAGRAM’S BRAND IDENTITY REFRESH OF THE GLOBAL TOY COMPANY FISHER-PRICE?
opinion
CRAIG BLACK HAS SOME ADVICE FOR SURVIVING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS AS AN INDEPENDENT CREATIVE
fresh eyes
DUNCAN BRAZZIL ON HOW THE UK INSPIRED HIS CAREER
artist insight
Cindy Kang on how photography informs her illustration work
ANIMATION NOW
LEADING PRODUCERS AND FILMMAKERS REFLECT ON EMERGING TRENDS AND SHARE THEIR PREDICTIONS FOR THE YEAR AHEAD
Project: Atoll by Studio Myerscough
Morag Myerscough reveals how she and Luke Morgan designed a vibrant biophilic installation in a central London office tower studiomyerscough.com