Celebrity painter says Jackson behaved just like a little kid

McClatchy Newspapers

BUENA PARK, Calif. — He met Michael Jackson face to face and painted the King of Pop at his Neverland Ranch.

Leon Jones, a self-taught artist from Buena Park, has fond memories of Jackson. The pop singer died June 25 at age 50.

“Michael was just great,” said Jones, 52. “He was just like a little kid. He was a down-to-earth person.”

During the summer of 2003, Jones painted two murals and a go-cart for Jackson’s sprawling Santa Barbara County residence. He spent several months painting at the ramblin’ ranch.

“It was unreal, like you were on a different planet,” Jones said. “Neverland is designed to make you feel like you don’t have any responsibilities.”

Jones observed that Neverland was equipped with rides, a functional train, a large movie theater and a tree house.

“He goes up in this tree and writes poetry,” Jones recalled. “In the day, he’d be sitting over in the tree, and he’d be just Michael.”

Jones painted two, 15-feet-high murals to decorate Jackson’s train depot. He did a portrait of Jackson in knight’s armor donning angel wings, as well as a large mural of Jackson pointing toward the heavens, surrounded by winged children.

“When they saw them, Michael and three or four kids, and his kids, they all started applauding me,” Jones said. “Later on, one of the children said, ‘That’s what Michael did when he felt like you had done a great job.’ I’ve never experienced something like that.”

Jones also said that upon seeing his work, the King of Pop grabbed his hand and skipped a block’s length with him.