For Immediate Release
January 4, 2016
Contact:
Karen Mack
Mike’s Art Truck
www.mikesarttruck.com
mikesarttruck@centurylink.net
678-357-2778
“Simple Ways: Folk Art by Leonard Jones” on view at the Hillsborough Visitors Center
January 15, 2016 through March 17, 2016
Hillsborough, N.C. – The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough and Mike’s Art Truck are excited to bring an exhibition of paintings by self-taught artist Leonard Jones to the Alexander Dickson House in Hillsborough, NC. “Simple Ways: Folk Art by Leonard Jones” will be on display in the historic building which houses the Hillsborough Visitors Center from January 15, 2016 through March 17, 2016.
Folk artist Leonard Jones leads a simple life in rural Lincoln County, Georgia, where he was born and raised. Living in a small plain farmhouse with no luxuries, Jones has always been able to support himself doing farm work and odd jobs. Content to be without a vehicle of any kind, he prefers to stay close to home where it is quiet, saying he lets his paintings “take me to places.” The paintings, mostly made with house paint on scrap metal, are glimpses into Southern rural life at work and at play, based on the artist’s own experiences. The colorful scenes are full of motion and enjoyment. The figures, preoccupied with their own activity, often face away from the viewer or have their faces obscured by the brims of hats, as if caught unaware of the painter. Jones spreads large blocks of color with a house painting brush, but he prefers to paint forms with his fingers, often leaving his fingerprints visible in the finished work. For smaller subjects or greater detail, he often uses a stick from a nearby tree or sometimes the “other end” of a brush. In nearby small towns there are hand-painted signs promoting farmers markets and local produce that are also the work of Leonard Jones.
Longtime collectors of “outsider art” & friends of many artists, Greg and Karen Mack founded Mike’s Art Truck to promote and sell the work of self-taught living artists. Mike’s Art Truck has no physical gallery location, and the truck is only an imaginary one driven by their cat Mike. Artwork is shown through cooperation with other businesses and public spaces and is displayed and sold online. Since moving to Hillsborough in 2012, the Macks have curated folk art shows for the Orange County Public Library, the Chapel Hill Public Library, the Hillsborough Visitors Center, and the Orange County Historical Museum.
Exhibition artwork is available for purchase directly through Mike’s Art Truck and can be picked up after the conclusion of the show. Contact Mike’s Art Truck for information by email at mikesarttruck@centurylink.net, or visit their website at www.mikesarttruck.com.
The Alexander Dickson House and Hillsborough Visitors Center is located at 150 E. King St., in downtown Hillsborough. Admission to the exhibit is free and open to the public during regular visitor hours. Free parking is available. For more information about Historic Hillsborough, including the Visitors Center, please visit http://www.visithillsboroughnc.com.
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