Sharing Aviation's True Spirit
Sharing Aviation's True Spirit
Posted: 2008-9-23
If you knew Joe Jones, as many of you do, you will quickly realize what a
devoted artist he is and that creating aviation art is truly what he was born to
do. As his mentor, world renown aviation illustrator James Dietz, said as he
shook Joe's hand for a photo during a visit to Dietz' studio in Seattle, "Joe,
I'm passing you the torch," Jones did not fully realize at the time the huge
commitment and responsibility that went along with the honor. He does now... he
has gratefully excepted the challenge and responsibility!
Aviation illustration is not just making pretty pictures of aircraft. It's about
painstaking research and attention to the smallest detail in the hope of telling
each story honestly, accurately and with full respect and integrity. It's about
bringing each story to life as if you were right there yourself to fully help
share and preserving our rich aviation heritage.
To do that it takes much more than just a passion for airplanes and technical
skills. An artist must truly live and breath aviation every single day. Jones
realized early on, to truly do this type of work with any sense of justice and
dignity, one must become an aviator themselves to come close to having the
ability and experience to visually capture the history, adventure, freedom, joy,
discipline and achievement associated with flight. For Jones, it has quickly
become the richest life one could ever imagine.
A Denver native, pilot, and proud member of EAA chapter 43, Joe Jones
has been both a professional illustrator and graphic artist since 1983.
In 1995, he started his own successful design firm, Art Works Studio.
Currently featured in the Macworld Illustrator CS2 Bible, over the last
decade much of Joe's work has been showcased in nearly two dozen top
books on Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator as textbook examples of
some of the best digital artistry in the business.
Since 2001, Joe's trail blazing digital aviation design and illustration
work have landed him accounts with clients such as Adobe Systems, Rolls
Royce, Frontier, and Indiana based Chautauqua Airlines. Jones has also
gone on to create national ad campaigns for Adidas and has also worked
with performers such as Carlos Santana.
Over the last several years, Jones has quickly been recognized and
awarded as one of the worlds top artists in the air show industry today
creating the annual campaign work for clients such as Rolls-Royce and
the National Aviation Heritage Invitational. Recently breaking all "ICAS"
(International Council of Air Shows) records in consecutively receiving
the industry's top honors for his 2004 and 2005 campaigns for Nellis Air
Force Base and Aviation Nation. Jones is the only aviation artist in the
world to receive five first place ICAS awards.
Committed to helping preserve our aviation heritage and dedicated to
honoring our American veterans, Joe spends a considerable amount of his
time each year volunteering his skills to the EAA, several air museums
throughout the country and works closely with the 8th Air Force
Historical Society and the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Jones also works
directly with The Greatest Generations Foundation, and Shades Of Blue,
producing award winning graphic design and illustration work to help
promote these important groups.
Please contact Joe at
Joe@Airmail-Greetings.com or use the form on our
Contact page.
Jones says quite often, "If you see any spark of
life at all in my work, it comes directly from the inspiration and support
of all of the incredible aviators I have had the great fortune to spend time
with over the years."