Sabrina Jones

Sabrina Jones is an American painter and comic book artist, writer, illustrator, and editor commonly associated with the work of artist/activist collectives such as Carnival Knowledge and underground comics such as GirlTalk and World War 3 Illustrated as well as her own graphic novels.

Biography

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Sabrina moved to New York to study painting at Pratt Institute. Jones began writing and illustrating comics since the 1980s, inspired by the societal tumult of Reagan era and the revived Conservative focus on repealing abortion and other reproductive rights. As a young art student, Jones was alarmed by the growing threats to women’s rights. She joined a group of pro-choice activist artists called Carnival Knowledge. World War 3 Illustrated co-founder Seth Tobocman then convinced Sabrina to create her first comic strip for the magazine . She has gone on to edit and contribute to many issues, including Bitchcraft, Female Complaints, and Life During Wartime. A long time professional scenic painter and gallery artist, Jones completed an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2003.

Comics work

In the 1990s Jones co-founded Girltalk, an anthology of women’s autobiographical comics, published by Fantagraphics. Jones created her first historical comics for Wobblies! A Graphic History of the Industrial Workers of the World, Verso 2005. Her work for the Real Cost of Prisons inspired her to create Mixed Signals, a counter-recruitment tool in comic book form. Her first long form Graphic Novel was Isadora Duncan, A Graphic Biography, Hill & Wang, published in 2008. 2010 saw one of Sabrina Jones first collaborations with a writer, Paul Buhle. Buhle wrote the text for FDR and the New Deal for Beginners, which was illustrated entirely by Jones. The mixture of graphic novel and history book by Buhle and Jones was the latest in the long line of For Beginners books. In 2013 Sabrina Jones illustrated "Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling" an adaptation of Marc Mauer’s book on America's exploding imprisonment rate.^[1]

Painting

While known as a fine art painter, Jones has worked consistently as a scenic artist since 1990, painting scenery for film, theater and television. In 1994, as a new member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 Jones began weekly work for Saturday Night Live's broadcasts that continues through the 2013 season to this day.

Personal life

She now lives in Brooklyn with novelist Steve Stern, and two cats, Percy and Jezebel.

References