Artist: Aneurin Jones

Artist’s Statement

Aneurin M.Jones was born a farmer's son in the rural community of Cwm Wysg on the border of the old counties of Brecon and Carmarthen. He received his higher education at Swansea College of Art, where, from 1950 to 1955, he studied fine art; after graduation he spent two years with Celtic Studios, designing stained glass windows for churches in Britain, Canada and the United States. He was head of the Art Department at Ysgol Y Preseli, Crmych when it opened in September 1958 until July 1986.

A summary of my philosophy

Rural charachters have inhabited my imagination for decades. What part does imagination play, and how has this been influenced by memory, is a question I occasionally ponder. The only certainty in my art is the prominent and constant place of rural charachters, of country scenes, of and atmosphere - sometimes redolent of spent passions.

Though these charachters are occasionally depicted in the contemporary locations - the local market, the sheep do trails and 'Sadwrn Barlys', they lend an air of history, give a flavour of tradition and form a link with my own memory and imagination.

Fairly obviously this link between art and upbringing underlines the fact that my formative years were spent in a rural environment similar in many aspects to the one depicted in my paintings. I have always ben conscious of a long line of ancestors reaching back into the mists of time - all farmers or rural craftsmen steeped in country lore.