ABOUT JAY
John Austin Stone is a self-taught abstract expressionist artist, who resides in Spring, Texas, located 25 miles North of Houston. He was born in Birmingham Alabama in 1961, during the height of the civil rights struggle which was literally happening all around him.
Jay grew up in the deep South, living in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and finally Texas. He spent 4 years in the Middle East, working as US Department of Defense Contractor, three years of which were spend in Iraq during the war. The sights, sounds and experiences of a war zone were some of the most formative events of his life, changing his perspectives and altering his views of civilization and of himself.
After traveling the world, he came to appreciate the amazing attributes of home, and the value of true connection with people, beautiful art, and love. Jay has a beautiful wife, Pam, and four amazing and talented kids. Jay is a Texas-based abstract artist. His work is held in small private collections across Texas and Pennsylvania. He lives and creates in Spring, Texas
ARTIST STATEMENT
"Creating art brings me a lot of peace and happiness. What started as a creative outlet and escape from stress has turned into a passion that I hope you feel when you see my art. A life-time of nature and art appreciation finally broke through a wall of creative denial like a wave, and my artwork is the expression of that energy…
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I hope that my art stimulates a “that’s really cool!” response from viewers. No deep meanings, no hidden messages, just pure enjoyment…
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I believe that abstract art should be enjoyed (or not) individualistically, meaning – people will (and should) see what “they see”, not what someone tells them they should see.
My challenge is to create something new, something that compels me to want to share it, and that others value and appreciate. In that vein, I try to create art that I like, and that makes me smile and feel a completeness…"
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JAY'S SHOP