By Tabitha Johnston - Chronicle Staff | Nov 17, 2023
SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Shepherdstown Public Library’s (SPL) new building at 145 Higbee Lane was built with a gallery space to hold art shows, which is finally being used for the first time, to feature Jones’ artwork in “The Seriously Whimsical Paintings of Rebecca Grace Jones”.
“I used to be an illustrator. I was hired to do things in a very realistic style. When I started doing my own paintings, that all went away,” said Rebecca Grace Jones in an interview on Nov. 4.
When Jones left her career in commercial art to transition to creating fine art, it was thanks to her move from Baltimore, Md. to Shepherdstown, in 2006.
“When I moved here, I was still doing illustration and some teaching,” Jones, who was also a professor at Towson University and Maryland College of Art and Design, said. “It wasn’t long after I moved here, though, that I decided it was the right time to move from commercial art to my own art. It was a scary leap because commercial art is a given, and you have an income. But the only thing you can do is jump right in and do it!”
Jones credited living in an artistic community, with a number of people who make a living in the field of art, as the motivator she needed to transition to her current vocation. And, after taking that “leap” out into creating her own whimsical, nature-inspired paintings, Jones found she had made the right decision, as she was soon able to make a living painting full-time. She has since shown her work in galleries across the country.
According to SPL Director Christy Hagerty, Jones was selected as the first artist to show work in the space due to her excellent reputation and strong local presence. Thirty percent of the sales from the artwork in the current show will be donated to the library.
“She is a very well-known artist. It is a kindness (of hers) to be our preliminary test. If it’s successful, we’ll do some other artists by invitation,” Hagerty said. “It’s awesome to have her work in here — it makes the space feel warmer and brings a different crowd into the library.”
After Jones’ art show ends on Nov. 29, she and her partner, Judy Rand, will hold a pop-up art show at Evolve Gallery. The show will open with a reception on Dec. 1, from 5-7 p.m. It will be held through Dec. 3 and feature a new kind of artwork that Jones has recently begun experimenting with.
“We will have more small things at this show than at the typical event — gift items, that kind of stuff, ” Jones said. For example, she is offering 3”× 3” tiny paintings, each original and unique.
