A couple notes about Drayton Jones’ show & review by Katherine Rushworth from The Gallery of CNY:

I am not an art critic, nor do I claim to be a particularly good writer. However, I have seen a lot of artwork and know what Drayton Jones is making look so easy in his watercolors is quite difficult.  Having known Drayton, his artwork and having represented his work here at The Gallery of CNY for the last three years, I feel compelled to add to the words by Katherine Rushworth, the art critique for the Syracuse Post Standard.  Katherine reviewed Drayton’s show at The Spring in Fayetteville NY shortly before the show opened in November 7th.  You can read the review below or click above to the left to go to the Syracuse paper’s website.

1. 1.First Drayton’s use of watercolor paint, choice of bold color and stroke is naturally skillful.  Take his naturally intuitive artistic sense, add a lot of hard work (and work hard he does), and what we get is an artist who is very important to our time and community.  Drayton is making a mark in our time with his paintings.  He not only captures scenes that many of us recognize and know, but also that are changing and disappearing before our eyes. He paints ‘beautiful’ work, but more he paints what is happening right now. Like I say about many of the artists of The Gallery of CNY, he is capturing history, more he is making history for the Central NY region.*  He often chooses to not leave anything out, which mean telephone polls, street and business signs, and aging, often disappearing barns and old family farms.  
   

2. 2.His perspective and what he choses to paint is unique to Drayton.  Even though he is influenced and studies many great artists, Drayton is capturing whatever he sees in the moment - and most importantly our moment in time. First, the fact that he paints ‘plein-air’ (a french term for outdoors) must be acknowledged.  He works from one of the most challenging still-lifes on earth, the outdoors. Even with both the light and scenes constantly changing, Drayton is determined to paint what he sees in front of him. He sketches, makes numerous composition and value studies, and then finally when he is ready, he puts the watercolor down quickly.  Sometimes, he paints the same scene 3-4 times until he gets is ‘right’.  The paintings you see by Drayton are the end result of a dynamic process, a process that yes, comes naturally to him but also for which he works diligently.
   

3. 3.When at the show, be sure to check out two of Drayton’s pieces (two of many of my favorites) in which he captures extraordinary depth and perspective with his simple use of composition and color.  ‘Closing Camp’ and ‘Tin City’ pictured below.  Be sure to examine the paintings up close, but more, take advantage of The Spring’s big room by viewing each piece from across the room. In ‘Closing Camp’, Drayton successfully captures the view through the trees and out into the lake. One can easily imagine the drama of the lake opening up behind the trees.  Not an easy task.  In ‘Tin City’, one can easily walk down the wood walk on the left and through and under the bridge. But more, notice the strong bright and bold colors in the back of the painting. This use of color is both unusual and daring when seeking distance in a painting. He captures both an intimate scene of the bridge but also a doorway through which the painting dramatically opens in the back and out to the right.
   

4. 4. 90% of the artwork in Drayton’s show was completed within the last year (not the last three years).  From a stack of watercolors and inch deep, he picked out pieces for this show.  Only 2-3 paintings from the entire show were not completed within the last year.  In September of 2007 - just two years ago, we had a show here for Drayton (which sold out) in which we chose work completed by Drayton within the couple years prior.  And since, we have sold over 15-20 paintings. Drayton sells and shows current work.
   

5. 5.One last note, although Drayon humbly agreed with Katherine’s comments about his figure drawing and know he has room for improvement, (we’ve spoken about this at length over the last few years), I want to make note about his figures.  There are very few artists, landscape artists in particular, who even approach the figure. Drayton’s figures are both uncomplicated, brave and complement his painting style right now. In the piece below right, the piece would be completely different if the figures were absent. It would be about a quite dock and building. Instead it’s a busy, lively, sunny afternoon near the water.
   

1. *and beyond... as he he has sketch book and paints at-hand during family travel, vacations, for various workshops and plein-air events and when he spends a few winter months in Naples Florida.
   

ABOUT THE GALLERY:  The Gallery of CNY located in the heart of New York State features original artwork by the regions most collectible artists. We have an active website updated weekly. Check out the 'Just In' page and our event listings for upcoming shows and join or mailing list on the front page of our website.  Stop by anytime to learn more about the artists who are making history for Central New York and to experience the gallery. Children always welcome and encouraged to attend all events. Hours are Tuesday - Saturday 11:00am - 5:00pm or anytime by appointment.  Call Jennifer Schutzendorf for more information. thegallery@gallerycny.com  315-655-3707 or www.gallerycny.com

Click Here to see some more of Drayton Jones’ watercolors.  The second half (rows 5-8 are most recent works and majority are in show at The Spring in Fayetteville.) 

http://www.gallerycny.com/GalleryCNY/Client/Drayton/index.html

Exhibit shows Fayetteville artist still learning his craft

By The Post-Standard

November 08, 2009, 6:00AM

By Katherine Rushworth

Contributing writer

Courtesy of Drayton Jones

THIS WATERCOLOR by Fayetteville artist Drayton Jones is included in an exhibition of the artist’s works in the gallery at The Spring Center for Spiritual and Cultural Unity in Fayetteville. The piece, titled “Lower Fayetteville,” from October, 2009 is one of the later pieces in the show, which spans three years of work.

 

The details
What: “Watercolors by Drayton Jones.”
Where: The gallery in The Spring Center for Spiritual and Cultural Unity, 200 Brooklea Drive in Fayetteville.
When: Through Dec. 12.
What to expect: More than two-dozen watercolors spanning three years by Fayetteville artist Drayton Jones.
Hours: Noon to 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and after Sunday Gatherings.
Admission: Free.
Info: 637-7778. 

By Katherine Rushworth

Contributing writer
 
Fayetteville artist Drayton Jones gave up his job in the banking business a few years ago and he hasn’t looked back. Jones now lives to paint. Well, maybe he finds time for an occasional round of golf; but studio time is what defines his days and satisfies his soul.

 Through Dec. 12, an exhibition of approximately 30 of Jones’ watercolors, completed over a three-year timeframe — 2006 to 2009 — remain on view in the gallery at The Spring Center for Cultural and Spiritual Unity in Fayetteville. The show demonstrates Jones is very much an artist in the making: still developing his technique, mastering his medium and refining his style. But, it’s clear he has a strong eye for composition and, as some of the most recent works suggest, he’s well on the way to discovering his own, distinctive voice.

 Landscapes, seascapes and harbor scenes dominate Jones’ subject matter, but there is also an interior scene, a couple of florals and a few examples of the urban/industrial milieu. In general, he is able to find an engaging, naturally occurring moment in his surroundings and then crops it within the painting, inviting us in to discover it with him. His hand is free, quick and creates a strong sense of spontaneity.

 “I prefer to paint ‘all in one go,’ which helps to prevent the paint from being overworked,” Jones writes in his artist’s statement.

 His style over the three-year period has borrowed from John Marin, Raul Dufy, Charles Burchfield and to a lesser degree, Winslow Homer. The earliest works show an artist still echoing the voice of others and wrestling with his medium.
 

We see in the most recent works, those from the past few months, that Jones is becoming more confident in his handling of watercolor and more willing to take risks with style and composition.

 The deficiencies of the earlier works result from Jones’ tenuous control over his medium and shaky drawing skills, specifically his inability to render the figure. In fact, if there’s one piece of advice I could offer Jones, it would be to spend some time learning how to draw the figure. It will improve his over all drawing technique, as well as his specific ability to draw the figure.

 In pieces such as “Canadian Pacific,” “Busy Beach, Naples, Florida,” and an untitled piece of a room claiming a portrait over a mantle, the figures are clumsy and elusive in form in an uncomfortable way.

 In “Northside,” two three-quarter length figures profiled in the foreground interrupt the visual flow of the painting like an inappropriately punctuated sentence.
 

But having said all of that, Jones has ability. He possesses a natural eye, the desire to speak in a unique way and the apparent discipline to keep working at it. His later pieces, those from the past few months, suggest he is finding his way through the styles of others to his own.

 “CNY Farms” fractures the composition into Cezannesque geometric planes of pattern and color, while still extending a hand to realism. And in “Go Gate,” an interpretative scene of Colgate University, Jones shows a much freer hand and more daring use of his medium than in the earlier pieces.
 

Jones has been working seriously, daily for only the past few years and the progress he’s made from some of the earliest works in the show, to those of the past few months, is noticeable. Only time will tell just how far Jones is able to push himself, his technique and his medium.

Katherine Rushworth, of Cazenovia, is a former director of the Michael C. Rockefeller Arts Center (State University College at Fredonia) and of the Central New York Institute for the Arts in Education.