It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of artist Brian Jones on February 27, 2008. Brian will be sadly missed by all who loved him and enjoyed his work.

Brian Jones was born in 1950 in Chatham, a small city in south-western Ontario.

Upon completion of his training at H.B. Beal Technical School in London and after a brief apprenticeship with Jack Chambers, Brian became determined to pursue full time painting. From the very beginning, his work depicted people during moments in their everyday lives – walking the dog, shoveling snow, picnicking in the park and visiting the grandparents. His strong narrative quality touched with subtle humour or charged with suspended energy links the artist and the viewer to common experiences mirroring life in Canada during the 50's and 60's up to the present time.

Initially, a skillful photorealist, Jones gradually learned that by adding a curve here, a line and some shading there, he could manipulate his images to great effect. By streamlining the figure, adding brighter colours and simplifying his shapes in a more abstract format, Jones developed what would eventually be called his “Neighbours” style. More recently, larger scale canvases with fine detailed brushwork and complex compositions illustrate his newer paintings.

From 1975 to 2006, Brian Jones has produced a solo exhibition every eighteen months in Toronto. He has won many grants and awards, including the Queen's Silver Jubilee award in 1977; OSA Best Oil Award, 1985, and the “Young Achievers” National Award 1982. The artist is represented in many major public collections: Canada Council Art Bank, Museum London, McIntosh Gallery University of Western Ontario, Confederation Art Gallery, Province of Ontario, City of Toronto Archives and in Corporate and Private Collections throughout Canada, the US and Europe.