ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Craig L. Jones
Craig L. Jones is an artist currently living in the Church Hill area of Richmond, Virginia. He came to RVA in 2017 via his hometown of Winchester, Virginia. He started drawing when he was 6 years old and has used his creativity to carry him through a variety of difficult challenges.
Craig is a self-taught graphite artist and is always learning and developing his own style of graphite art. Most recently, he has added charcoal and/or acrylic paint to a couple of his drawings. Though Craig has experienced horrible things in his life, his faith in God and the ability to create art has moved Craig forward in the healing process.
Craig enjoys the variety of thoughtful conversations and discussions that are encouraged by his artwork. There are pieces that represent Craig’s personal growth, and he inspires others with his story. The pieces of prominent figures also spark lively discussions.
Craig is a self-taught graphite artist and is always learning and developing his own style of graphite art. Most recently, he has added charcoal and/or acrylic paint to a couple of his drawings. Though Craig has experienced horrible things in his life, his faith in God and the ability to create art has moved Craig forward in the healing process.
Craig enjoys the variety of thoughtful conversations and discussions that are encouraged by his artwork. There are pieces that represent Craig’s personal growth, and he inspires others with his story. The pieces of prominent figures also spark lively discussions.
Brendan Rigdon
Brendan is an artist with a monastic dedication to studying scripture and oil painting. He has a Communications Studies major and a Fine Art minor from Western Kentucky University studying oil painting under Yvonne Petkus. He has also enjoyed studying privately in Italy, and under artists Miguel Carter-Fisher and Miles Hall.
One of the greatest joys of his life is painting! It is a meditative practice for him to use his imagination to dwell in the respective composition to create a place where the viewer can engage and perhaps inhabit the space. As a person with emotions often larger than life, he likes to use all the tools at his disposal to evoke the same emotion in others. The work he does in his studio is the fruit of his time alone with God in Scripture and prayer.
While he considers himself a representational figure painter, he appreciates the idea that iconography can open a window which a person may gaze through to see something sacred. He hopes to push against hyper-individualism by creating sacred art where there can be shared meaning. He loves to paint the human figure occupying a space to provide a visual liturgy and a window into the truth of Scripture. He tends to lean towards accurate anatomical proportions while taking artistic liberties with color and texture. His work is best described as the residue left after many marks are made and many marks removed. In this way, his paintings are somewhat sculpted. All of his paintings are drawings first. In the drawing phase, his aim is to depict the subject in the space accurately. The next phase is the underpainting. Finally, as he paints, he is dealing with the mystery of the space he is creating with many thin layers of pigment and glazes.
For questions about original work, commissions, or exhibitions please contact: brendan.rigdon@gmail.com.
One of the greatest joys of his life is painting! It is a meditative practice for him to use his imagination to dwell in the respective composition to create a place where the viewer can engage and perhaps inhabit the space. As a person with emotions often larger than life, he likes to use all the tools at his disposal to evoke the same emotion in others. The work he does in his studio is the fruit of his time alone with God in Scripture and prayer.
While he considers himself a representational figure painter, he appreciates the idea that iconography can open a window which a person may gaze through to see something sacred. He hopes to push against hyper-individualism by creating sacred art where there can be shared meaning. He loves to paint the human figure occupying a space to provide a visual liturgy and a window into the truth of Scripture. He tends to lean towards accurate anatomical proportions while taking artistic liberties with color and texture. His work is best described as the residue left after many marks are made and many marks removed. In this way, his paintings are somewhat sculpted. All of his paintings are drawings first. In the drawing phase, his aim is to depict the subject in the space accurately. The next phase is the underpainting. Finally, as he paints, he is dealing with the mystery of the space he is creating with many thin layers of pigment and glazes.
For questions about original work, commissions, or exhibitions please contact: brendan.rigdon@gmail.com.