Award–winning watercolorist Karlynn Jones is to show her compelling paintings and pottery at the Mesquite Fine Arts Gallery as the November Artist of the Month. Jones’s art is known to stir the viewers’ imaginations with her sumptuous scenes of nature.
Jones has enjoyed art in one form or another all her life. As a child, she showed a real interest in art and displayed a talent for drawing. It wasn’t until later in life, however, that she found her way back to art in greater depth through her craft projects and a lucrative art related business.
“I found I excelled at creating and designing gift baskets and packages for corporate accounts, selling to customers in Utah, California and Nevada,” says Jones. “My business, ‘Karlynn’s Artful Gifts’ has been an art form that I have enjoyed for over 25 years,” she adds.
Jones was born in Carrolton, Mo., but moved to the San Francisco Bay area in California when she was a child. Jones and her first husband, Dick Glieden, raised their family, sons Mike and Shawn and daughter Kara, in the Bay area and later in Park City, Utah. Dick, a successful Realtor, and Jones moved to Mesquite in 2001. Unfortunately, Dick passed away three years later. She married Ted Jones in 2009. Jones and her husband enjoy sharing time together with their respective families, and Ted actively supports Jones’s artistic endeavors. Jones enjoys being close to her grandchildren and encourages their participation in the arts as much as possible.
Jones’s art took a new direction when a friend encouraged her to take a watercolor class at a recreation department in California. “I found watercolor painting frustrating at first, but now, after many more classes and seminars, it became a great passion” shares Jones. She adds, “Watercolor is pure joy for me; just watching the magic happen when the watercolor explodes on the paper brings excitement and adventure to my paintings.” Her focus is on the color and texture that she can achieve with watercolor, and she loves painting desert landscapes and flowers, themes she is noted for.
Jones’s considerable talent has been influenced by such notable artists as Sterling Edwards, Max Bunnell, Roland Lee and Mesquite artist Char Lang. An active member and volunteer at the Mesquite Fine Arts Gallery, Jones has entered numerous exhibitions and has won many ribbons for her outstanding work. After years of admiring and collecting pottery created by ceramic artists, Jones began to pursue this new medium, adding clay work to her prolific and diverse artistry.
Jones is an established and very popular artist. Her paintings and pottery are exhibited and sold in art galleries in Nevada and Utah.
The gallery, located at 15 W. Mesquite Blvd., is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information call (702) 346-1338 or visit www.mesquitefineartscenter.com.