Holtz Children's Hospital Beaux Arts Festival of Art -
January 19th-20th, 2008

T-Shirt Artist Maria Reyes-Jones

Maria Reyes-Jones grew up in a military family, traveling to different parts of the country at a young age.  Her high school years were spent living just outside of Washington, D.C. where she was exposed to the world of art through her frequent visits to the National Gallery of Art and the Corcoran Museum.  As a young girl, she took classes at the Corcoran School of Art and it was then that she knew her interest would become her life-long passion.  Reyes-Jones went on to study Fine Art at Florida State University, earning a B.F.A. in 1987 and an M.F.A. in 1989.  Since that time she has made her home and career in the Sunshine State. 

Over the years, Reyes-Jones has built a solid reputation and impressive body of work.  She is well known for her “palm tree series” a dramatically rendered collection depicting Florida’s most famous foliage.

Like many artists, Reyes-Jones is influenced by what is around her and she enjoys exposing herself to other forms of art as inspiration.  She comes from a long line of artistic women.  “My mother was my inspiration; she was a tole painter and she enjoyed other crafts as well, including hooked rugs and needlepoint. I am also interested in the idea of infusing my art with personal history and so I am drawn to the craft of quilt making; every piece of cloth has a story to tell; layers of meaning are added and the end result has a richness that I respond to and want to express in my art.”