Brian Jones, professor of fine arts, has worked in a field that often involves color for 30 years at IU Southeast. However, things look slightly different to him.
His view is not a personal preference, but a physical one. Jones is colorblind.
Ever since he was a child, Jones knew that he had trouble viewing colors, but did not get confirmation he was colorblind until he was a teenager.
Even after discovering his deficiency, it never stopped Jones from pursuing his love of art. As a child he said he was always scratching designs into slate rocks or drawing on something.
During his years at the University of Cincinnati, he taught a color theory class and for a short while taught the same class at IU Southeast until he said it became too problematic.
“I don’t think it has a negative impact on being an instructor,” Donna Stallard, lecturer of fine arts, said. “He can see values, subtle nuances in grayscale, better than people who can see color. It helps him push students to see nuances in their color projects,”
The two main struggles that Jones said he has encountered with teaching art is assisting students with mixing colors and grading color projects such as color wheels.
“Most of the time I tell them to work through it, because I probably can’t help them get the color they are looking for,” Jones said.
Jones said when he is in doubt about grading color projects he requests the aid of colleagues to help decide on an appropriate grade.
Even though he can see yellow fairly well, Jones said he views art by noting the differences in color temperature. Jones said what he means is red would be a warm color and blue a cooler color.
Despite being colorblind, almost every piece of work he creates has some use of color.
He said he compensates for this deficiency by labeling tubes of paint so he can tell what he will be using rather than guessing.
“It would be hard for someone on the outside to be able to tell he can’t see greens and reds and believe that he is colorblind. Even I didn’t believe it when he first told me,” Stallard said.
For Jones, art doesn’t just exist inside the classroom, but he said it is his prime interest and hobby.
When not on campus, he has a personal art studio located in his home, adjacent to his artistically created garden.
“I like having my studio next to the garden. If I get stuck on something, I can always step outside and get a fresh aspect on whatever I’m working on,” Jones said.
His work has been displayed in more than 35 solo exhibitions and more than 200 international, national and regional exhibitions.
By GRACE STAMPER
Staff Writer
gstamper@ius.edu