Once-homeless man driven to share his art

[The Straight Story]

Once-homeless man driven to share his art

Kevin Malcolm Jones considers himself “a noted artist, an established artist.”


That’s probably a stretch for a 55-year-old whose career is still in its infancy. But considering how far Jones has come in the last five years, his pride is understandable.


Jones, who works under the name Malcolm J, currently is displaying the latest in a series of local exhibitions on the top floor of the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. Yet when he moved to Central Ohio in early 2005, he had no career, no prospects—and no home.


“I immediately went into a shelter,” he said.


Jones explained that he and his siblings had been living in his parents’ basement in his native Cleveland. After his parents sold the home, Jones said, he moved to Columbus because “I was looking for a change.”


A change was certainly what his life needed. Jones said he was suffering from a lack of direction caused by “a mixture of psychological internal problems and chemical dependence.”

http://fwix.com/columbus/share/22daa4f518/once-homeless_man_driven_to_share_his_art