Aneurin Jones, the artist with a keen eye that lit up the land
Karen Price reflects on the outstanding legacy of Welsh artist Aneurin Jones, who has died at the age of 87 after a prolific career depicting traditional rural Welsh life in paintings of luminous intensity
ONE of Wales’ most popular and prolific artists, Aneurin Jones, has passed away at the age of 87.
But his legacy lives on – not only in the collection of paintings he left behind but also in his children and grandchildren, two of whom are artists in their own right.
Aneurin was renowned for his canvases which captured the true spirit of the Welsh countryside and the people who lived and worked there. And he was still painting until just a short time before his death.
His son Meirion, who is also an artist, visited his late father’s home in Cardigan after he passed away and experienced one of the most “poignant moments” of his life.
“I went into his studio and there was a large painting there which was half-finished,” said Meirion.
“It was a very mystic landscape with certain figures you could pick out in the distance and there was one solid figure in the foreground looking into the distance.”
Of his father’s work he said: “His drawings had a beautiful instinctive line, and harmony of colours was important in his paintings too. He always told me not to put too many colours on the palette – three or four colours create a musical harmony.”
Born in Cwm Wysg on the Brecknockshire/Carmarthenshire border to a farmer’s family, Aneurin was one of five siblings who were all very creative.
“It was a vibrant household and they gave themselves created challenges,” said Meirion. “There were drawings all over the walls of the farmhouse – sketches of people.”
Aneurin studied fine art at Swansea College of Art from 1950-55 and found a great mentor in his tutor, Bill Price.
“His tutor was very young, in his 30s, but my father said he could draw like the great craftsmen of the past. He nurtured [Aneurin’s] love of drawing.”
Aneurin – who went on to work as a teacher at Ysgol y Preseli, Crymych, north Pembrokeshire, until 1986 – received a Rotary Award for outstanding service to art.
He exhibited regularly at the National Eisteddfod and won the main art prize there in 1981.
In 2013, one of his artworks featuring Welsh cobs was presented to the Prince of Wales at the Royal Welsh Show and many others are held in the public collections of the National Library of Wales, Ceredigion Museum and MOMA Wales, as well as collections overseas.
His paintings often dwell on the old ways of life in the Welsh countryside. He would often make sketches at sheepdog trials and farm sales, where unwanted farm equipment was sold off.
“My father, being a farmer’s son, knew the rural community well and could relate to it, and had strong bonds of attachment. And also he knew the ancestry of those around him. But he would then step back and observe – looking at the shapes that these people created – looking through the eyes of an artist in terms of composition and colour.
“It was a unique situation to be in – being a part of this close community of country people and being detached from it at the same time. On reaching the studio in the evening, these people became alive in his imagination.
“He always worked at night – from about 8pm-1am – and he would normally finish a painting in one sitting. Although he was a very easygoing and patient guy, when he worked he would work quickly to capture the essence of the moment.”
Meirion followed in his father’s footsteps as an artist and the pair held many joint exhibitions over the years.
“It was instinctive in me, like with my father. I would sit down on the milking stool and start sketching visitors to our home without any prompting.
“One of the things he would do as he developed a painting was try to simplify it – he said that when he simplified a painting, he mystified it as well.”
Aneurin leaves behind his wife Julie, son Meirion, daughter Meinir and three grandsons, Ifan, Tomos and Deio Gwynedd.
Aneurin Jones’ funeral will take place at Narberth Crematorium on Saturday, October 7, at 12.15pm.