Alison Jones has no formal education in art. She’s basically a self-taught artist who received tuition and was introduced to watercolor by Clare Dalby and Jenny Jowett, both leading botanical artists. In the years 2000, 2008 and 2013 she was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Grenfell Silver Gilt medals for exhibitions of cyclamen coum and fuchsias. Jones has illustrated a book with 12 color plates and 40 line drawings. In 2000 she became a full member of the Society of Floral Painters and since then she has been exhibiting nationwide. The festival of fuchsias that was held in the village church in 1984 provided her with the inducement to pick up a paintbrush. To begin with she used gouache and acrylic on a variety of different colored backgrounds, which represent the vitality found in fuchsias.
As her art progressed, the technique of using a ‘dry’ brush with watercolors was integrated with the other media to produce the full range of botanical subjects. This has allowed her to describe the plants accurately and to capture the true beauty and character of the plants. Alison was born in Carmarthenshire; her childhood years were spent in Suffolk and South Wales. After graduating in History and Art, she taught in Oxfordshire for 20 years. But when opportunity arose, she moved to Cornwall to focus on her plants, her animals and her art. She’s inspired by vibrant, vivid color. She says she likes watercolors because they lend themselves to vitality. She’s had the good fortune to live in some fine-looking parts of Britain where fantastic views provide her with real inspiration.
