Rusty Jones is an American painter and medical illustrator from Texas.
Rusty Jones at a glance
- Born: 1953, Texas
- Nationality: American
- Known for: Plein air landscape painting
- Also works as: Medical illustrator and sports illustrator
- Education: Master’s degree in medical illustration
- Sports art seen in: Golf Magazine and Golf Digest
- Website: rustyjonesart.com
“I don’t find the landscape, it finds me. If I go out with a preconceived idea of what I want to paint, I can drive around for hours and never find it.”
Rusty Jones was owner and CEO of Lawyers Media and Pinnacle Publishing, but he has also become a nationally recognised landscape painter with representation in seven galleries throughout the western United States.
Rusty Jones produces medical illustrations for journals, publishers, and pharmaceutical companies, and his sports illustrations have appeared in Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, and have been published by the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Cowboys, and the United States Olympic Committee.
Rusty Jones says he does not choose the landscape, it chooses him, and he is drawn to it with an overwhelming urge to express himself with paint, and he believes plein air painting is the purest form of artistic expression because you do not have time to mull things over, you see what is in front of you, mix a color, and put it down with authority.
Rusty Jones once landed a portrait commission and lunch at the 1991 Masters Golf Tournament with 1935 Masters champion Gene Sarazen, thanks to his golf illustrations, and he will drive for days just to have the opportunity to paint a particular location like the California Coast, Rocky Mountain National Park, or Big Bend in Texas.
- He is based in Texas and works as a medical illustrator.
- His landscape paintings are represented in seven galleries.
- He has done sports illustrations for Golf Magazine and the Dallas Cowboys.
- He painted on location at the Masters Tournament with Gene Sarazen.
- He believes plein air painting is the purest form of expression.
Rusty Jones says that every painting he has sold is because the buyer made an emotional connection to it, and if he has created something that reminds someone of something special in their life, then he has reached out and touched their heart with his art, which he finds deeply rewarding.
Art Category Fact: Plein air painting is a practice of painting outdoors to capture the natural light, color, and atmosphere of a scene, and it was popularized by the Impressionists in the 19th century, with artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and John Singer Sargent, who sought to capture the fleeting effects of light and the changing seasons in their work.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” — Edgar Degas
You can see more of Rusty Jones’s landscape paintings on his official website, rustyjonesart.com.