Artist Kendall Jones of Kilmarnock has creativity brewing like a Northern Neck nor’easter, and he gets a lot of his inspiration from the area.
A“It’s such a great place to live, the beach, the water, the history,” says Jones. And boy, does he have a lot of history in this most inspirational of places.
Born in Richmond, Jones and his siblings lived with their mother near her birthplace in the Fleets Bay area of the Northern Neck until his father returned from Vietnam. Soon after he returned, the family moved to California, Life eventually brought Jones back to Virginia.
Bewdley, his ancestor’s home, was a picturesque house on the Rappahannock River built by Major James Kendall Ball, who was George Washington’s mother’s cousin. Kendall’s ancestors are members of widely known Northern Neck families, such as the Balls, Bussells, and Lees, many of whom are buried in the cemetery at Whitechapel in Lancaster. They lived, loved and worked this land and these waters for hundreds of years.
Some of his relatives spent their lives fishing around the Northern Neck and carving beautiful Merganser duck decoys from old fishing stakes that made up part of the weirs, or traps, used on the Northern Neck. Creativity seems to run in the family.
Jones was a teenager when he returned to Virginia and joined the Navy for four years, then eventually met and married his wife, Leslie. Their first son, Casey, came along when they were living in northern Virginia.
Jones knew he wanted to get out of the city and there was no place like home. Luckily, at the time, his brother-in-law was the caretaker of Ditchley estate, an historical estate that belonged to the duPont family and is located near Kilmarnock.
Kendall and his family moved into the cottage and welcomed two more sons, Sean and Jack, and became the new caretaker of the property. For roughly 20 years, Jones spent time giving tours of the estate while also working for The Tides Inn resort.
Jones cultivated his creative talents while also painting houses for a living. In 2023, he began to focus even more on the art that had been a part of his life since childhood and a backyard studio was created. He some times spends as many as ten hours a day creating art.
“Sometimes I do a little series. Sometimes I’ll do something and do three or four of them and then move onto something else,” he said.
Old water skis have become one of his favorite things to repurpose into art. Some of the pieces are functional, leading double lives as coat hooks, while others are simply a colorful representation of life on the Northern Neck.
Jones also does paintings of fish, bridges, abstract art and creates giant signs out of pieces of driftwood, old oars, buoys and anything else he can find.
“You know it’s always been kind of just a release for me. I don’t fish. I’ve got my cars I like working on, and I like doing art.”
As for his paintings, Jones admits he is self critical. If it’s not “perfect” he will ruminate on it for days and sometimes go back and paint over the entire thing and start from the beginning.
He says he sometimes does this five or six times before he gets it the way he wants it.
“Sometimes, you know, you get something in you, and you have to do it. I have to paint. I have to draw. I get really creative, and I just have to put it down on something. It’s a way for me to not go crazy,” he laughs.
Today, Jones lives in Kilmarnock with his wife, three cats and five Holland Lop rabbits who freely roam the art-laden house. Contact Jones to view or buy his artwork at jkendall62@gmail.com or on Instagram at KendallJJonesArt.
In addition, several of his pieces have recently been added to the collection at Hang-ups Gallery, 74 South Main Street, Kilmarnock.
Dagny J. Waldron is Virginia born and bred, and lives in Lancaster County with her husband.
