Erica Jones Creates Gorgeous Paintings & Thoughtful Rhymes

If the lights in Erica Jones’ basement studio are on well past midnight, the painter is deep in the work. She prefers to prowl among her paints and her passion when the world is asleep, when the rhythm of time is hers alone to bend and meld. Sometimes her canvas comes to life to the staccato beat of a Clifford Brown playlist; other times, she works in unadulterated stillness and a single pool of LED light. “When I’m working, my sleep pattern is completely backwards,” Jones says. “It’s this innate thing I can’t explain. Something about energy and rhythm. When the work is done, I’m back to sleeping at night like a normal person.”