Gale D Jones
American Artist
8/21/1956-1/18/2023
Gale D Jones was an American Artist who is best known for his Woven Watercolor technique developed in the 1970s and other works featuring scenes of life in Nebraska and the Midwest. His novel style and artistic talent have received national recognition.
Jones was featured in the June 1984 issue of the American Artist magazine for his unique style and for inspiring creativity and grit during a period of legal blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy.
Link to American Artist article.
The article is made available with the permission of the publisher.
"I See...A Second Chance" By Gale D Jones
(self-portrait) 1983 Work symbolized Jones' reprieve from blindness and a new awareness of life.
Woven Watercolor (1/4" weave)
ABOUT
Gale D. Jones was a meticulous and sensitive painter. Born and raised in Northeastern Nebraska, the artists' love for the beauty and simplicity of the midlands and its people are evident in the subject matter most frequently chosen.
A majority of the artists' works reflect an original technique Jones developed called "Woven Watercolors." The process involves executing two complete, separate paintings of the same subject, but differing in hue and value. Jones then cuts each into narrow strips and interweaves both paintings into one final composite work. The end result of this time-consuming procedure not only creates an element of suggested 3-dimension, but a very striking illusion of motion within the finished work. Jones also created numerous non-woven works of similar subjects using watercolor, oil, acrylic, and graphite.
From this creative style, the artist has gained published national recognition. His works have been featured in regional, national, and international exhibits of museums and galleries from Los Angeles to New York City.
Evolution of Gale Jones'
Woven Watercolors
While attending college at Kearney State College in Kearney, Nebraska, Jones began to experiment with different techniques in an attempt to achieve perceived motion within a static work. His early attempts were something he called "Grid Technique". He described this method in an interview in 1981 saying that it involved taping off verticle stripes and making a painting. Once dry, he removed the tape, revealing blank watercolor paper. He then proceeded to tape off the painted stripes. Next he made a separate painting in the voids created by the first round of taping. Finally, he would use a pencil to sketch in a superimposed image in the middle giving it a double exposure type effect.
Ultimately this method was more abstract than he desired, so he moved on to a mosaic method where he cut two separate paintings of the same subject each into 1/2" squares. He proceeded to paste every other square of each painting together to make a composite work. Jones' writing indicated that he abandoned the mosaic method after a friend entered his apartment, creating a gust of wind that sent his 1/2" mosaic squares flying. Naturally, this guided him to the woven watercolor technique. The weave offered a similar feel to the mosaic. Still, it was a more elegant finish. Jones would create two separate works of the same subject that differed in hue and value. He then stripped each painting into horizontal and vertical strips. Finally, the two stripped works were woven together into one final work. Various strip diameters were used during his career. Jones created around 75 woven works during his career [1]
1. Eldon Advertiser, Style evolves from experiments, 24 September 1981 pp. 1c
Lost Sight, Not Vision.
Jones' vision impairments have been widely reported and were the subject of many news articles and publications. He began to experience blurred vision in 1980 due to diabetic retinopathy. He began to prepare himself for the possibility of permanent blindness by starting to learn Braille and considering more conducive arts.
Jones was legally blind from March 1981 until the summer of 1982. During this time, with the help of an optical visor and magnifying glass, he created at least two significant woven watercolor works. One painting entitled "The Survivor," depicting a bison separated from its herd was featured in a national traveling exhibit by the National Exhibits by Blind Artists.
Jones had many procedures to stabilize his vision. Following his final cataract surgery, Jones was no longer legally blind, though he had significant differences in vision between his eyes. Additionally, he had permanent spots of vision loss in places where the laser was used in procedures.
Example of Jones' "Grid Technique" with superimposed image with "double-exposure' look
Example of the "mosaic" style with two paintings cut into 1/2" squares and pasting every other piece to form one composite work.
"Jessie" - Woven watercolor by Gale D Jones
KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
National Juried Exhibitions
1983 Crown Center Corporation Kansas City, MO
1983 National Exhibit by Blind Artists Traveling Exhibit
“The Survivor” (Woven Watercolor feat. bison)
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Brooklyn Museum of Fine Art, New York City, NY
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Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT
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Moore College of Art, Paoli, PA
1984 Brand XIII Gallery Watercolor Exhibition Glendale, CA
1984 Springfield Art League 65th National Springfield, MA
1984 West Coast Artisan Inc. Competition Fair Oaks, CA
Awarded 1st Place for Self Portrait, “I See, …A Second Chance” Woven Watercolor
1984 Art Happening of St Louis Association Kirkwood, MO
1984 Crown Center Corporation Kansas City, MO
1984 12th Great Gulfcoast Art Fair Pensacola, FL
1984 Disney World - Festival of the Masters Orlando, FL
1984 Knickerbocker Artists 34th Ann. Exhibit New York City,
NY at Salmagundi Gallery, Woven Watercolor - “Starring Role” (feat. lily)
1985 An Art Affair St Louis, MO
1985 Knickerbocker Artists 35th Ann. Exhibit - Salmagundi Galleries- New York City, NY
Feat. "There Comes A Day...For Watching and Listening
Published Features and Profiles
PBS in Warrensburg, MO - Televised feat. on Woven Watercolor technique - 1982
American Artist Magazine - June 1984 Sketches From Life “Gale D. Jones” by Robin Longman
Feat. Artist profile and works including; “I See…A Second Chance,” woven watercolor, and “One Brief Moment…and Gone,” Woven Watercolor. It also mentions “The Survivor” and National Exhibit by Blind Artists Traveling Exhibit.
Nebraska Life Magazine - January 2013 by Matthew Spencer
Feat. Artist profile and works, including; “Baxter in Blue - Hide and Go Squeak,” also talks about graphite drawing titled “Old Jake” (cowboy), and “Jessie,” a Woven Watercolor portrait of a family friend.
Honors
Knickerbocker Artists - Signature Member 1985
Northeast College, Norfolk, NE - Hall of Success Inductee 1986
In Memory
In addition to being an incredible artist, Gale was a beautiful soul that touched the lives of many. He is dearly missed by his family, friends, and community.
"The Survivor" by Gale D Jones woven watercolor created while Jones was legally blind.
