Earl M. Jones

Earl M Jones died on August 25, 2024 at 87 years of age after a long struggle with COPD. He was a well-known and accomplished oil painter, watercolorist, and master draftsman, especially noted for his quick renderings of the human figure. He was born to Edna Morby Jones and William Thomas Jones in Salt Lake City on April 25, 1937. He grew up in Ogden, Utah. He spent the rest of his life in Salt Lake City except for one year he lived and studied in New York City. He is survived by his wife, Jill Backman Jones, a retired college professor and currently a psychotherapist in private practice. He has three children, all artists: Nathan Thomas Jones, poet, photographer, musician, Salt Lake City, Utah and Samaria, Idaho; Sarah Ann Jones, fiber artist and garden designer, Seattle, WA; and Samuel Patrick Jones, watercolorist, Flagstaff, AR. Earl is also survived by three grandchildren: Chloe Jones, Salt Lake City, UT; Silas Robinson-Jones, Brooklyn, NY; and, Grace Robinson-Jones, Berlin, Germany. He has two deceased siblings: Nancy Jones Roberts and Richard Jones. His one surviving sibling, Jennifer Jones McMurdo, lives on Vashon Island, WA. Earl was laid to rest in the Samaria Cemetery, in Samaria, Idaho, where his Welsh relatives immigrated, lived, and are buried.

Earl became interested in art when he was child while looking at the drawings in the margins of his children’ books drawn by the famous wildlife artist Ernest Thompson Seton. Not long after, Earl began drawing in the margins of his other picture books. His love and fascination in creating art continued throughout his childhood, adolescence, and teens. In 1954, he moved from Ogden, Utah, to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he entered the University of Utah with a major in fine art. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in 1959 and was immediately accepted into their Masters of Fine Arts program before leaving to study in New York City for a year. In Manhattan, he took graduate classes at the Art Students League with the renowned figure painter, Joseph Hirsch. Returning to Utah, he graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Utah in 1962. Earl was offered an assistant professor position in the University’s Art Department after receiving his MFA. There he taught drawing and painting full time for seven years before leaving to teach at the Salt Lake Art Center. A few years later, Earl bought an abandoned gas station with two north facing service bays, which he converted into a studio. He taught drawing and painting classes there for many years, in addition to weekly painting and drawing sessions for local artists interested in working with a live model. He also conducted many extended workshops in landscape painting at various locations throughout the West. Although classes and open sessions were discontinued some years ago, Earl continued to use the studio for his own work, which was shown in local and national art galleries and various art exhibits. Earl had one-man shows at the Phillips Gallery, the Salt Lake Art Center and at the University of Utah Art Museum. As part of the latter, he donated over 20 of his paintings to the Museum’s permanent collection. Earl received his first national painting award while he was an undergraduate student. He has appeared in many published anthologies of important Utah artists. In 2015, Earl received the Utah Governor ‘s Award for a Life Time of Artistic Excellence.