The Art of Andrew Jones 

 Andrew Jones - seldom has a name crossed our paths so many times than this one. (...)

So who is Andrew Jones? A quick internet search tells us that he is one of the founders of an online art community and Creative Director at Massive Black. We also learn that Andrew began his career working at INDUSTRIAL, LIGHT and MAGIC and that he was the conceptual force behind Nintendo's Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.  he has taught figure drawing and concept art at workshops around the world and that more recently he can barely be seen from the cloud of airbrush mist as he covers beautiful nymphs with the patterns of his soul. 
Ok, more than enough reasons to call Andrew Jones to introduce him and his artwork to our readers. We catch him on the tour bus, driving through Oregon on the way to Seattle, as he is on a west coast tour with DJ BassNectar.  

Art Scene: A west coast tour with DJ BassNectar? 

Andrew Jones: You heard right. I'm traveling with DJ BassNectarr who brings me on stage every night to do live projected digital paintings during his sets. It's been almost a week so far and I am having the time of my life, and that is saying a lot because I choose an awesome life to live. Every night I get up on stage in front of crowds of screaming and dancing people, armed with my modified Wacom tablet with industrial clamps, handles and a guitar strap. 

Art Scene: I beg your pardon? 

Andrew Jones: Hahahaha! Yes, with a guitar strap so that I can rock it like an electric guitar. I have never participated in live painting at this level before. I have lots of experience doing live digital paintings at the conceptart.org workshops, but getting up on stage not having to talk and have an insane sound system behind you blasting out epic tracks, dancing and screaming, is a whole other level of experience! Every venue is totally different and I create at least one new painting every night. (...)  

Art Scene: What training did you have? 

Andre Jones: I was enrolled in private art lessons at 6 years old, I went to a Ringling school of art and design and received my bachelors in fine art and computer animation, and I also studied at the boulder academy of fine arts. Looking back I learned the most from the more non-traditional routes. I spent a semester dissecting cadavers at Tampa medical school. And I learned more about drawing working as a street portrait artist and traveling around Europe by myself.  

Art Scene: Yes, it really seems that you have this "appetite", this desire and kind of anxiety to always do something new, to explore and to conquer.   

Andrew Jones: True. That is me. And with conceptart.org, the online community that I started with Jason Manley, a lot changed. It gained a worldwide following and created an opportunity to visit countries around the world and share our knowledge. Teaching has now become a passion of mine, I still feel like I'm pretending sometimes but I see people getting something out of it and witness the change it has had on peoples lives and that keeps my interest going strong. 
Andrew Jones is currently preparing an in-depth tutorial for our readers. So stay tuned for more! 

www.androidjones.com 

Read the whole article in issue 74.