Tom Jones RCA: Bold and Colourful

By Sara McKee

I had the delight of meeting some of Tom Jones’ family at his Retrospective exhibition at the Royal Cambrian Academy in February.  Tom was an architect by profession and clearly a passionate artist throughout his life.

Talking to his son and grandson, they showed me his sketchbooks, watercolours and portable equipment he’d take whenever he was out and about in this country or abroad.  The image of Tom in his studio reinforced my impression of a man who was big, bold and colourful in both life and art.

Understandably, as an architect, Jones featured buildings in most of his work. And he mastered many different techniques using pastel, oil painting, watercolour, and in his later years etching and print. The work in this Retrospective, features paintings from favourite locations in North Wales, Northumberland and Venice and Menorca, Spain.  He’s taken a steer from some of the masters too, as it’s clear to see the palette knife sweeps of Van Gogh in his oil landscapes and more delicate watercolours in Ruskin’s style for his streetscapes in Venice.

It is his bold, bright pastel paintings that captured my imagination and also my purse – I’m about to be the proud owner of his pastel landscape including Harlech Castle, a childhood holiday favourite. And as we start to build our own artistic platform @LifeFullColour1st it’s encouraging to see a brilliant artist fulfilling his potential in the second half of his career.