Richard Jones - - the artist

Everything this painter creates comes straight from the heart. Jones' passionate approach to life shows in his work, especially works that depict human and animal anatomy. He is heavily influenced by contemporary painters, George McLean and Stewart Sherwood, both of whom are personal friends. The nineteenth century French impressionists hold a strong appeal for him, especially Edgar Degas.

Born in Liverpool England during a Second World War air raid, he says his life has been full of fire and fury ever since, if that's what it takes to paint with passion, then let the fires rage.

Jones' life in Canada has been a varied one, from a career in engineering to many years as a farmer, and time in the Arctic as a bush pilot, have given this painter a lot to draw from. One major regret he says is that he left so many friends behind in the N.W.T. The far North is his spiritual home, to which he returns often in his thoughts and will again in paintings to come.

This painters work hangs in private and corporate collections in North America and Europe. The most noteworthy being the J.S. Redpath corporate collection in Ontario. The Redpath collection contains paintings by David Blackwood, Alex Coville and many others of international reputation. Jones does not limit his image making to paintings, he is an accomplished photographer, using the camera for portrait commissions and to gather reference material for his paintings.

Much of what Jones has photographed is electronically archived for future paintings, many will deal with the Arctic. The daily existence of the native people in the Arctic is harsh, etched in the faces of it's veterans, these are the faces of Canada's first people, a subject that this artist will not tire of painting.

Many early works deal with his life on the farm, then move on to subjects far removed from farm life. The roads down which Jones has traveled are many and varied, giving this artist a multi-faceted cache of memories from which to draw.

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