Atlanta artist Calvin Jones combines his love for film and art to create magic in a duo of fields.

Atlanta-based artist Calvin Jones inside his Virginia-Highland studio. Spot his latest pieces on display at Peachtree Hills’ TEW Galleries.

As a child, professional artist Calvin Jones remembers whiling away the days in his hometown of Gainesville, Ga., sketching animated Walt Disney characters—Bambi, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, you name it—that deeply impacted him via movies he experienced on the theater’s big screen. The Georgia native went on to become a landscape painter in the late 1990s—creating scenes filled with lakes, streams and natural settings—before making his foray into the film industry as a set painter in 2012. Today, the Atlanta-based artist partakes in both professions simultaneously. His vibrantly colored, semiabstract oil portraits of imaginary figures (the most well-known being his beautiful and powerful depiction of women’s faces) display many of the unique techniques and materials to which he’s been exposed during his years in the movie industry. “The overall production of a film is probably what has had the biggest impact on me,” says Jones, who presented his first local art show at Lansdell Galleries in 1999 and now is represented by Atlanta’s TEW Galleries, where he kicked off his most recent exhibition of portraits and figure paintings at the end of April. “Film is a different discipline, with the massive effort by so many different departments coming together in a collaborative effort to make a singular piece of art; you are part of a big machine,” says the artist. “Making art, for me, is more personal; it’s a singular activity. In the end, though, it’s all about making images and telling stories. … I love the idea of enhancing people’s lives through art and creativity.” Coming up next? Look for Jones to show off some new endeavors he currently has in the works. “I’m playing around with some fresh ideas in the studio, including a new body of work,” he says, “and I’ll begin work on a new film project later this year.” 425 Peachtree Hills Ave., Ste. 24