Randy M Jones

I was born in Syracuse NY under a libra sky. When I was one my parents moved us to Ogdensburg, NY, my father having just finished his master’s degree, went to work as the director of the children’s home there. We lived in the third floor apartment over the home so I for the next five years, at least had about 100 kids to play with. When I was six we moved to the Poconos of Pennsylvania where I spent the next 20 years or so.
I was nine years old when my parents recognizing an art ability in me, enrolled me in art classes where for the next three years I learned the basics of art development. 
In college I struggled between my love of art and my love of nature, briefly majoring in art. But it was nature that won out then and I graduated with a degree in Environmental studies. After college I helped create an environmental education program in the Poconos which later won several state awards. 
In 1979 I met a woman on her way to Alaska. Before I knew it I was on a west bound plane. We ended up getting married in Anchorage in 1980 and living there for five years where we fished for salmon, planned for gold, sat out under the northern lights, hiked and cross country skied. 
Nearly forty years later we’re still married and have traveled extensively throughout North America and Canada, have slept in hostels throughout Scotland, have watched the sun set over the Serengeti, seen the new year in at the Eiffel Tower in Paris and been amazed by Gaudi’s creations in Barcelona. 
I lived for 20 years in the northern Adirondacks, restored antiques for 30 years, built houses and raised a couple sons. I was one of the founders of the Wild Center in Tupper Lake, an internationally renowned Environmental education facility which educates thousands of people a year.
Having lived in the Adirondacks for years I’ve been influenced by Adirondack artists but also by my high school art teacher,college art professor and the multiple craftsmen who have passed my way through my life. I continue to push myself by taking on more challenging subjects, reveling in the detail, constantly striving for that wow factor.
I now live in a solar powered house that I built myself on 48 acres in central NY near Cooperstown, where I make interesting things in wood and capture nature on canvas. 
As an artist I’ve learned that art is an integral part of life. I try to capture the beauty, elegance and intricacies of the world around me. I’m a nature lover and find the natural world provides a necessary component of the human experience. To be able to capture even a small portion of that beauty and express it on a two dimensional format is exceedingly rewarding.