Education

Education & Teaching

Colin Jones was born and raised in Newport, Monmouthshire. At 16, in 1944, he began his formal art education at Newport School of Art, where Tom Rathmell, one of his influential teachers, helped shape his early development. His studies were interrupted by compulsory National Service in the British Army, where he served in the army of occupation in Germany.

Afterward, he resumed his education at Cardiff School of Art, earning an Art Teachers’ Diploma. Cardiff during this time was a vibrant hub of artistic energy, with contemporaries like Charlie Burton, Ernest Zobole, and Glyn Morgan (“The Rhondda Boys”). His working-class background drove him to pursue commissioned portraiture early in his career, creating works of local figures such as Ruth the cockle gatherer, and later, prominent figures like the Bishop of Monmouth and Miss Parry of Aberdare Hall.

His teaching career began at Gowerton Grammar School and later at Quakers Yard Grammar School near Merthyr, where he developed a strong connection to the South Wales Valleys’ industrial landscape. His academic journey later included roles as an extra-mural lecturer at Cardiff University, and then Schools’ Services Officer at the National Museum of Wales.