A new exhibit opened tonight at the St. George Art Museum, featuring the stunning paintings of Jimmie Jones, as well as paintings by Margaret LaFranc and a unique installation called “Upside Down.” Deborah Reeder and her staff at the museum put together another outstanding exhibit. As a landscape painter, I am always drawn to good landscapes, but Jim Jones is in a league by himself. Painting from his hand-built studio, high on a rocky ridge near Zion National Park, Jones has spent a lifetime putting his own stamp on images of the southern Utah terrain. This show contains many new pieces created especially for Southern Utah University’s new art museum, along with numerous paintings from private collections. Filling the upstairs exhibit space, these landscapes literally take your breath away. Bigger-than-life images of the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park literally suck you in as sunlight and shadow dance magically across the canvases. Jimmie passed away in late 2009 leaving a legacy of over 400 paintings of Zion National Park and 150 of the Grand Canyon.
I had a chance to visit artist Jimmie Jones’ home recently located high above the town of Rockville. The view from his multiple balconies is unbelievable. At his death, he willed the home to Southern Utah University in support of their new art museum.
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