M.C. "5¢" Jones
(1910-2002) Gillam, LA
I was lucky enough to visit Mr. Jones a few times. (Finding him the first time was quite the adventure!) Nicknamed "5 Cent" because of his small physical stature, Jones was a ranch and farm hand for most of his life, living in a small community north of Shreveport. Though he did paint scenes from his own past, they are not the typical romanticized view of rural life—like many “memory painters” he depicted cotton picking scenes, but he also painted images of remembered encounters with the Klan as well. Biblical subjects, portraits of neighbors/family, and the occasional mermaid or dinosaur also appear in his work.
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