Andrew Mcneile Jones painting process begins with found images; whether, old family photographs, magazine cuttings or film stills ,which might stimulate associated memories – a Proustian quality of transporting one to another time and place. Preparatory ideas responding to this source material are developed in quick oil sketches that may or may not be amalgamated or slowly simplified before being transferred to the canvas. This first layer of paint is then continually worked and re-worked; sections are scraped back, shapes are overlaid onto the ghosts of others; select areas are worked up in fine detail, others heightened with paint splattered, sprayed or thrown at the canvas as the work evolves.
Andrew McNeile Jones studied at Ruskin School of Art, Oxford, graduating in 1982.
His paintings explore the importance of memory, with works being sharply lit and heavily influenced by film lighting emanating from his earlier career as an award-winning film director and producer. These interior narrative paintings may include furniture and articles of clothing discarded in otherwise empty rooms, giving clues about the former occupants. Other works may show the everyday, with figures delicately illuminated by way of painterly reflection. This may leave the viewer to wonder as to their identity or to imagine a story unfolding before or after the capturing of a certain moment in time; akin to something shrouded in romanticism and nuances.
As well as being inspired by the still life works of William Nicholson and Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Andrew sometimes uses as a starting point memories of a childhood growing up in the English suburbs in the 1970's: the searing experiences of teenage yearning, the moments, the faces, the films, the tentative fumblings and the hopes and dreams that shape us.
Andrew’s process begins with found images: old family photographs, magazine cuttings or film stills which might stimulate associated memories – a Proustian quality of transporting one to another time and place. Preparatory ideas responding to this source material are developed in quick oil sketches that may or may not be amalgamated or slowly simplified before being transferred to the canvas. This first layer of paint is then continually worked and re-worked; sections are scraped back, shapes are overlaid onto the ghosts of others; select areas are worked up in fine detail, others heightened with paint splattered, sprayed or thrown at the canvas as the work evolves.
In late 2022 Andrew won first prize at the ING Discerning Eye show held at The Mall Galleries, London. This led to a solo show in 2023 at the headquarters of the sponsor, ING Bank. He has also had solo exhibitions throughout the UK and Europe, including: New Work, Galerie Anagama, Paris (2015); The Cloths of Heaven, Go Figurative, Hampstead, London (2014); Silent Light, Go Figurative, Notting Hill, London (2011).
His work has been curated into numerous group exhibitions including a forthcoming exhibition at the Royal Birmingham Society of Art (2024); Oxford Art Society Open (2023 / 2022 / 2021); Royal Society of British Artists, The Mall Galleries, London (2023); Eye, The Mall Galleries, London (2020, 2013, 2015); A World Without End, No Barking Lockdown show, London (2020); GoWithYamo, Hoxton 253 Art Space, London (2020); Spring Show, Elizabeth James Gallery, London (2019); London Ultra, The Bargehouse, London (2018); Galerie Anagama, Paris (2013, 2015); Go Figurative, London (2011, 2012, 2014); The Art Gallery, Tetbury (2010 - 2018); Enid Lawson Gallery, London (2010 - 2013); Broadway Modern, Broadway (2008 -2010); and Artspace, Henley-on-Thames (2006 - 2008).
Andrew has participated in numerous art fairs throughout the UK, including the Affordable Art Fairs in Battersea and Hampstead, as well as international fairs in Milan, Utrecht and Amsterdam. His work has been published in publications including Art Hole Magazine Art of England; International Artist; Elle Decoration; Homes & Gardens; British Vogue; and The Independent.