Polly Jones grew up in Plainview, Texas surrounded by a vast sky and parents who encouraged her love for art. She earned a BFA in painting at Abilene Christian University which sparked a life long passion for still life painting. During a serendipitous convergence, she met her future husband in the painting class studio while working on her first still life of glass objects, a motif that has sustained her over the years. She is grateful to share this journey with her fellow artist/art professor husband. They have a newly grown daughter who is also a creative in digital media. A longtime full time artist, Polly spends her days painting in a sunny, converted porch studio. Her work is in many personal collections scattered all over the world. She exhibits in several galleries and is active in local arts organizations. "I paint from life as a way to practice gratitude and mindfulness in a world that doesn’t always encourage a slow gaze. The still life setups are composed of daily life—finding energy and delight in ordinary moments and objects. I often use dishes that have either been handed down from my mother and grandmother or found at thrift stores or estate sales. Using ephemeral flowers or fish are also reminders of the fleeting quality of life. Landscapes are painted from photographs of places I have visited. With layers and heightened color, they become about the memory of the experience of place. Paint and paper are combined on canvas to create a rich surface that invites a close look. I often use vintage ephemera such as map fragments, ledger paper, hymns, poetry and Little Golden Book Encyclopedia pages for children. This is a way of sharing other voices and viewpoints within the image as well as carrying a sense of the past. I have a nostalgia for paper and analogue in contrast with theinfinite amount of information in a digital age. Drawing and painting from a still life set up or photograph is a beginning point. I feel the freedom to pursue intense color, light, pattern, and texture as their own forces. Grappling with these ingredients feels like a serious and joyful form of play. The polka dots refer to faith in atoms, spirit, pixels, and all of the things that are hard to see that pervade the physical world."— Polly Jones