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Yardley Jones
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"I'm sure my love of painting stems from my boy-hood days, when I would ramble in the mountains of my native North Wales," he says. "I was fascinated by the way the light played on the peaks and lakes."
Originals for Yardley
Yardley's works can also be found weekends at the Edmonton Strathcona Farmers Market!
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Welsh-born John Yardley Jones spotted early in life the humour, irony and sadness that surrounds us as we make our way through life.
The art of cartooning during the past 40 years has changed dramatically. Gone are the days when the pen spawned life into a caricature. We now have computer generated movies of such sophistication that they even include humans and cartoon characters that are not easy to tell apart. The newspaper cartoon has also undergone a metamorphosis of sorts during this time. It is not just the pen that rubs salt into society and government failings - technology has also made an impact here. What has not changed is the cartoonist. They are still a multifaceted creature that is a draughtsman, humourist, social and political commentator, risk taker, story developer-in other words an artist. Cartooning gets little attention in the art world (and probably too much attention in the media world). While a recognized art form cartoonists and cartoons do not elicit the same respect as other art forms such as painters and painting. But cartooning has a long and varied history. Part of this history is on these walls. This exhibit is focused on three things - our history as a society during the last forty years, the last forty years of character development and the last forty years of the development of a character. Yardley has been a boxer, fashion illustrator, house painter, character developer, editorial cartoonist, sports enthusiast, and a tireless worker for charity. His drawings during this time have mirrored our society - just like any good artist. His work has been praised and has also been the subject of law suits. He has developed a style that is recognized across the country and was syndicated widely in the Southam newspaper chain as well as the Edmonton Sun, the Toronto Telegram, and the Montreal Star. His art is a funny and serious look at us during this period. Yardley uses the two dimensional plane as a multidimensional window into ourselves. Each piece has captured a moment of our history, reflects who and what we were in that moment, and tracks how we got to where we are today. Just like any good artist.
(article copied without permission of the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension Dept October 2006)
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Yardley Jones artcards available in Jasper at Artists Own |
