Tropical honeysuckle

Ashley Jones, born in Perth in 1951, pursued Graphic Art studies at Perth Technical College from 1970 to 1971, Claremont Art School from 1972 to 1973, and W.A.I.T. in 1974. He has showcased his works extensively in Western Australia and interstate, including solo and group exhibitions at various venues such as the Old Fire Station Gallery in 1975, the Undercroft Gallery at UWA in 1976 alongside Ken Wadrop and Marcus Beilby in Three Realists, and a significant solo exhibition titled West Coast Images in 1977. Additionally, he exhibited seven times at Fremantle Arts Centre until 1985. Jones played a pivotal role in establishing the Perth Fine Art Print Studio with Neil Hollis and Jeff Jones (no relation), aided by an Australia Council grant. After traveling extensively in Europe in 1985, he returned to WA to co-establish Gunyalgup Galleries in Yallingup in 1987, aiming to promote WA artists and reside close to his favourite surfing spots.

Jones harbored aspirations of becoming an artist from a young age, influenced by his mother's support for influential WA designer David Phillips Foulkes-Taylor (1929-1966). During high school, he was inspired by the design aesthetics championed by Graphis magazine and the artworks of M.C. Escher, which led him to contemplate entering Art School at the age of 15. Growing up surfing off Perth beaches, a passion he maintained throughout his life, Jones began his creative journey by painting surfboards at Cordingley Surfboards before enrolling in Graphic Arts at Perth Technical College. He later pursued fine arts studies at Claremont School of Art and completed his education at Western Australian Institute of Technology (W.A.I.T.), now Curtin University, in 1974. Jones's early works showcased a blend of figurative imagery drawn largely from popular print media, incorporating compositional techniques learned from his graphics training to create metaphysical marine landscapes inhabited by archetypal female nudes. A skilled realist painter, Jones placed intaglio printmaking at the forefront of his practice during his formative years, drawn to its picture clarity and technical precision, honed through studio skills developed with WA print artist and mentor Cliff Jones (1931-2000) (no relation). His work exhibited a strong linear graphic dimension, reflective of his graphic sensibilities and influenced by the renowned American realist Philip Pearlstein (1924 -) in his life drawing subjects.

Jones shared a common ethos, rather than ideological aspirations, with Ray Beattie, Marcus Beilby, and Ken Wadrop (High Street Studio Realists), despite having differing visions and personalities, while maintaining a studio in Swanbourne, WA. In later years, Jones incorporated photography and direct drawing from real-world subjects into his artistic process. He encapsulated a variety of ideas and local perspectives with honesty and sensitivity, portraying scenes such as backyard steps in Little Egypt in 1981 and the interplay of Perth light across a wall in Tap, 1981. His later works showcased a refined style, depicting still life compositions featuring natural materials and botanical specimens collected near his home in Yallingup, exemplified by pieces like Place Setting in 1985 and his coloured etching series, Bookplate Series, inspired by Banks Florilegium (1771- 1784).