In my last posting, I showcased the bird paintings of my friend, Greg Jones. When I first met Greg, he was experimenting carving slate, which is a rather unforgiving medium.
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| Blue Heron |
Greg preferred carving wood, and exhibited his wood carvings in shows and galleries around the country. I'm so glad he documented these pieces, so that I can share them with you.
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| Future Flights of the Phoenix |
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| Soaring |
These two pieces,
Future Flights of the Phoenix and
Soaring, as well as
Eagle, below, were carved in mahogany. Greg's signature style has been to carve motion, as well as the bird.
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| Eagle |
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| Unison Call |
In this piece, Greg depicted two cranes going through a ritual of unison calling. One rises to call as the other lowers, and then they repeat the call in reverse. This is what mahogany looks like when it's bleached.
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| Spring |
Spring, a carving of two egrets, was one of Greg's most popular carvings, and he produced a number of variations.
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| Mark D. Ruffner | St. Petersburg Times | 2001 |
Ten years ago, I was asked to design a cover for a
Times Christmas gift guide. The newspaper wanted the design to suggest a "Florida holiday," so my solution was to use red and green in this manner, putting the warm colors in the foreground and cool, Florida colors in the background. The focal point is Greg's egrets, a quintessential Florida view, and the one element that really makes this piece pop.
Today, Greg Jones has retired from wood carving, but he continues to paint.
Every artist benefits from a trusted friend who will give honest and insightful critiques, and over the years, I've been lucky to have Greg as that voice for me.
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