Inspirational local artist, recognised globally.
Ian
Jones
Artist
Ian Jones, now 66, has worked and lived in Wrexham all of his life. He met with us in the Visit Wrexham offices in July and shared his story.
Ian B. Jones has always been an artist. Successfully selling his work throughout his whole life.
Ian originally studied Illustrations at NEWI (now called Wrexham University) and graduated with an HND in the early 1990’s.
Ian’s talents were spotted early, when he started out in his successful career at The Lady. The Lady were based in London and was widely respected as the longest running magazine for women, founded in 1885 and only recently and sadly closing in 2025. Previous Illustrators included Lewis Carroll – so Ian was in good company. Ian remained in Wrexham working remotely as a freelance artist for the popular magazine for some time. He told us; “In those days there was no computer; just telephone, fax and Royal Mail 1st Class!”
On Time
Everytime
Used to working to strict deadlines Ian remembers he had just five days each week to meet the briefs issued by the Art Editor from roughs to finished pieces each and every week. This trained Ian to be good with deadlines – and he told us he never missed one.
Travel
Inspired
Later, Ian worked at the Maelor Hospital, and retired in 2022, and now devotes all of his time and pleasure to painting and art. “Not a day goes by without me using a pencil” he says, which includes whilst he is away on his holidays. Ian has travelled extensively and took great satisfaction in sharing his sketchbooks and works that he has undertaken at stunning locations around the world.
Private
Works
Private commissions still pay the bills as they offer Ian steady income and work. Currently retained with our famous Wrexham Lager Brewery, he is undertaking a private commission for their owners and management team. Ian has been working for the past 12 months on 14 pieces celebrating their long and proud history connected to Wrexham.
Charity
Support
Ian sells high quality prints of his work in the local Hospital's Charity Shop. £5 from each sale goes towards Ian’s chosen charity which is the League of Friends, the official charity for the Maelor Hospital. In the past Ian has also supported Nightingale House Hospice and has donated works to the Wrexham Miners Project. So far, Ian’s works have raised over £1500 in donations, proving just how popular his work is in meeting the local demand. Charity support means a lot to Ian, and he said “If I ever get involved, I always want to help in some way. Painting allows me to do that.”
Visualising Wrexham's rich social history
Wrexham
Museum
In closing our meeting together, Ian told us he is a recipient of the FJones Initiative award in 2024, and has sold his works to museums, with Wrexham Museum having four of his more famous works that depict original market scenes and Wrexham AFC.
We look forward to finding out when the museum re-opens again this summer whether we get to see Ian’s work proudly set out on display once more.
