Salem Artist’s Work Defies Description, but Well Loved

‘- S- [Brian] His art has been called weird, cartoonish, and colorful, but Jonezy Artwork fans don’t care what you call his work. They love it. You’re watching Midvalley Local News Network, brought to you by FastSigns of Salem. I’m Brian Corcoran of “Hustle Northwes Podcast.” If artist Randy Jones’ work were to be compared to music, you might call it a marriage between punk rock, salsa, and “Looney Tunes,” with a bit of Andy Warhol thrown in. Jones began his colorful career as a child growing up in Keizer. He graduated from high school in Southern California, where he picked up tips and inspiration from street artists along the coast.

Like, I’ve been doing art my whole life, but like, probably like high school was when I was like, oh, I want to do this as art, like as a living. But all the way up ’til then, I’ve been doing artwork forever. So probably in high school, right when I graduated, 2004, I started doing the art shows and art gallery shows down, like, West Coast of California mainly.

By his count, Jones has created more than 1,000 works of art. He’s exhibited his artwork in Southern California galleries and sold to collectors throughout the country. However, Jones says more traditional galleries and art organizations in the Salem area have not always given him a place to showcase his skills.

Oregon didn’t really like my style as much. Super bright colors. I went to go put three pieces in, and I had to pay to get ’em juried, and they denied ’em. I didn’t even get a piece in. I’m like, no way, dude. Like, I literally paid to get it juried, and then they just, they didn’t take up. So I’m like, that’s why I go other places other than Salem to show my artwork off.

Local businesses, however, have embraced his work. Jones’s artwork, murals, logos, and paintings have appeared in Capitol Consignment, the Side Hustle Bar, multiple shops in the Reed Opera House, and Azul’s Taco House, just to name a few.

It’s super cool, actually. So I’ve done like, all the murals that we like, went and checked out. People will like, Snapchat me, or like, Instagram me, and they’re like, showing me that they’re there. They’re like, “Yo, check it out.” You know, like, that’s cool, you know? ‘Cause people enjoy it. I can tell people enjoy it. They’re not like, “Aw,” you know? That they want to like, take a picture with it and send it to me, and be like, “Hey, guess what? I went and got tacos at Azul’s today,” or, “Look at this.” I’m like, “Cool”, you know? It makes me feel good.

Jones is adept at selling his artwork through an online store, YouTube documentaries, Instagram posts, and live painting events at local dining and drinking establishments.

But I’m like, dude, the way you’re going to sell your artwork, you got to talk about it. People want to hear what the artist has to say about their piece, or like, what they were thinking when they made it, and if you can’t talk to ’em, it’s going to be hard to make a sale if you’re trying to sell your artwork. But if you’re just trying to show it, you still should talk about it too, I think.

As cities around the state continue to find ways of getting creative, there’s always plenty of people who want to bring color to the buildings we find ourselves staring at every day. If you want to mural of your own, or want to find out more about Jonezy Artwork, purchase some swag, original paintings or drawings, you can find them at shopjonezyartwork.com You can find this and other stories at midvalleylocal.mews. Thanks for watching. I’m Brian Corcoran.