We had the good fortune of connecting with Anthony Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anthony, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?

I think that would have to be passion. I feel like that has been the driving force in my life for the arts. It never runs out, you can always replenish it. Sure, you get tired, burnt out, even frustrated sometimes, but If you find something in life to be passionate about, it can never die.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So I am currently a full time delivery driver for Fedex Express. I love my job, the people I work with and the work culture. I love it there but It feels like theirs always something missing though. I feel like I’m destined for more. I think I just have not met/been around the right people yet. I think what sets me apart from the other artists is that I try to put emotion into my artwork. “How can I convey this message to the public?”. “Does this tell a story?”. “Can they relate to this this”. I want a piece of my artwork to speak to you and make you feel something when you see It. When I’m looking for references I try to think of what the images are saying to me and how I can recreate it better and make it my own. I entered the Anton Art Center Michigan Annual Art Exhibition back in 2019 & 2020. I am proud of getting into two different exhibitions of theirs and making top 50 out of 300 other artists in the U.S that competed. What made it even better was that I was from that small town Mt. Clemens, Michigan(tear). When that happened, even If I did not win anything(which I did not lol) It Is okay though, It was validation for me to keep going and that someone can see my skills and puts me up their with other amazing artists! I also found out about 5 years ago that I share my birthday with one of the most famous artist in the world, Vincent Van Gogh. Also to top it off, my middle name is Vincent. Talk about irony right? Through the years I’ve had overcome many challenges: Time management, not being paid, people stealing your designs, learning new skills for commissions, changing my style up trying to paint like others. Its not easy sometimes, because we as artists now in this day and age have to be able to market ourselves and understand the business part of it. I’ve also had to learn quite a lot on my own, I’m a self taught artist and had to teach myself how to paint people, plants, animals and other things through trial and error. On top of that we have relationships with family, friends, & spouses to maintain, full time jobs, taking care of households, paying bills & with little time left, chasing our dreams and taking care of ourselves. Also sometimes I’m not in the mood to create and art blocks happen that could be anywhere between 1-3 months or 5-6 months. I’m always looking up ideas though, trying to think of “the next big thing”. The biggest lesson I’ve learned and still learning is “Just start, you’ll figure out the rest along the way” & “Do It scared, Do It anyway”. I’m just starting to realize that if you were not ready, the opportunity would have never presented itself to you right? I’m not saying take anything and lowball yourself. Know your worth and what you’re capable of. We have to start trusting the process and stop wondering if we’re good enough and just do It anyway. I want the world to know about me and story is that, you are good enough and you have everything you need inside of you, this is your journey. Do not let anyone pick your paintbrush up and paint your story.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have to be honest, I’m such a homebody now its not funny lol. We probably would go downtown Detroit to “Detroit Shipping Company” its a great food place, that has 5 different food vendors constantly. It also has a small art gallery inside. “Deluxx Fluxx” is also a cool bar basement where we can have drinks, sit and relax under neon lights, they have a couple arcade games inside as well. Eastern Market is a cool place to go on the weekends and shop. We also have the Renowned Detroit Institute of Arts Museum here as well. The downtown Riverfront and Belle Isle is beautiful in the summer time. We could even hit drag show on a Saturday at GiGi’s cabaret or Ferndale has good gay bars with good music and shows! I’m pretty easy going, I’m usually down for anything.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give a shoutout to my mom & dad for always telling me I can do anything, I put my mind to. they’ve always told me to have a plan and set some type of foundation down so I can fund my dreams. My dad has been a big influence on my art and how it looks and the colors I use. I lost him back in 2020 due to health issues, it’s been rough since he’s been gone. It’s affected my art soo much! I used to be able to converse really creative ideas with him and he was really in tuned with my art as much as I was! He saw what I saw! He used to tell me all the time “Your just getting started son, it’s gonna take off. Just keep going!”. I just hope I’m making him proud of me! I also want to shoutout the only “art friend” I’ve really ever had, her name is Kayla Giampaolo-Friant. I met her when I worked at Painting With A Twist in 2017-2018. she majors in fine arts and does oil portraits. She’s been a really big help for me, perfecting my craft and skills along the way. she helped me learn about color theory, shapes, etc! She’s amazing and very talented!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_vinjonesart/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vin.jones/

Image Credits
Anthony or Vinnie Jones has the rights to these photos

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