Plenty fathers and sons share a connection through sports.
But far fewer share a connection through a love of painting. And certainly not many with as much heartwarming, rhyming style as Richmond artists Jerome W. Jones, Jr. and his son, Jeromyah.
The father-and-son team has painted some of the most legendary figures in African-American cultural history and gotten to meet many celebrities along the way from Michael Jackson and Jesse Jackson to Stevie Wonder.
Their work was featured last week in a small profile segment on CNN that you can watch here.
“To have my son follow in my footsteps is truly a blessing,” Jones says in the clip. “I’m blessed that I have a young man that listens to my counsel. We don’t always agree but that’s natural. But the blessing is he understands what I’m sharing with him.”
His son immediately follows with some Muhammad Ali-style verbal promotion for the duo: “From Dr. King to Coretta Scott King. From B.B. King to the King of Pop, the brush never stops.” Both of them share a knowing smile.
You can see their work locally in several locations. Fifteen paintings from their “Ingenious Artistic Minds (I AM)” portrait collection are currently on exhibit at the Governor’s Office of Virginia (1111 East Broad St.) until March 15. Their work is also included in a group exhibition at VCU Medical Center and the Spotlight Gallery.
Fourteen of the elder Jones’s paintings are autographed: Martin Luther King, Jr. III, Dr. Dorothy I. Height, Dr. Wyatt T. Walker, Shirley Chisholm, Dr. Lerone Bennett, Dr. Melissa Harris Perry, Dr. Samuel DeWitt Proctor, Tayari Jones, Serena Williams, Miss America Caressa V Cameron, Wynton Marsalis, B.B. King , Xernona Clayton, and Oliver Hill. Jeromyah’s portrait of Thurgood Marshall is also on view.
“There is an art to our marketing just like there is an art to creating our work through inspiration, information, and imagination,” Jones tells Style about the CNN appearance. “When it comes to things like the CNN piece and the people we meet, we believe, ‘a man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.’ [from Proverbs 18:16].”
Jones explained that the pair was building their BRAND, which stands for “bringing reflective art new dimensions. ”
“We are a two-man marketing team always brainstorming what we dream into living our visions everyday,” he adds.
Jones adds that they are currently working on putting together another exhibition of their “Ingenious Artistic Minds (I AM)” portrait collection of over 100 autographed paintings “depicting inspirational people from all walks of life. “
“We are contemplating the right location to exhibit this collection for the nation,” Jones adds.
