Tawnya Michelle Jones is my maiden name. A really common, ordinary name but in my case, I don’t think it’s ordinary at all. In my last blog, I shared that I had someone very special to introduce to you. This is someone I am excited for you to meet, someone I want to show off,  someone I owe my passion and skill to…this person is where I came from…this person is my dad and his name is Robert Jones and he is far from ordinary.

Artistic talent runs deep in my family, on both sides, but as I am able to commit more time to creating art, the more I am reminded of the influence my dad has had on me. My dad is a phenomenal artist and I credit him as being the foundation for most of the skills I have.

Check out some of his work….

Amazing, right?

Because I am at a point in my life where I can finally take a moment to focus on me, I am finally able to reflect on the things that make me ME…the things that I LOVE… the things I’ve LEARNED…the things I WANT to learn…and the things that I KNOW. I am realizing that much of what I KNOW about one of the things I LOVE most, came from my dad.

Me and my dad are very similar artistically…

Like me, my dad has not had any professional art education. He has been drawing since he was 6 years-old and his mom taught him almost everything he knows. In my dad’s words, “All the art classes I took in school were boring.”  I don’t remember any of my art classes being boring but there are very few that stand out and were not something I really cared about until about 10th grade. I do, however, remember my dad teaching me tips and techniques and walking me through several projects. Every time I pick up a pencil, pen, or brush, to create art, I rely on something my dad taught me.

Like me, my dad’s favorite medium is Prismacolors, graphite pencils, and watercolors. Although I love watercolors, my skill level is not as solid as his so I combine a lot of watercolors with watercolor pencils or colored pencils using techniques he taught me.

Like me, my dad’s favorite subject is portraiture work. I am happiest when I am drawing a picture of someone else. I love to turn a blank page into a person, patiently putting down one layer after another until it comes to life. My dad has also always had a passion for drawing wildlife, especially birds, and can remember an Audubon book of birds being his favorite when he was little. I have NOT always had a passion for drawing wildlife BUT am slowly growing fond of elephants and giraffes.

And like me, my dad always wanted to make a career out of art. My dad went to college briefly BUT, after discovering how many classes he’d have to take at the University, he got discouraged and gave up a scholarship to go work for a trucking company with his dad and brother. My dad has created art his entire life but, like me, seems to have drifted from his passion in the last few years but I had a conversation with my dad about a week ago that I’m excited about. Like me, I think my dad is picking up the pencils again…ready to make ART! By committing myself to developing my art career, I hope to inspire my dad to continue making as much as possible. I want him to realize that, even more than I know he is aware, that he has a GIFT and that he inspires me! I’ll be posting more of his work in the future and hopefully some of it will be new.

So…I want to hear from you…who inspires you to do what you love? Who do you credit for your gift?