Ossie Jones
- Journeyman Artist
I’m a journeyman artist and illustrator and I work in different
styles. This covers graphic art, working with perspective in the old fashioned
way of doing this - entirely by hand-eye co-ordination. I advertise in
specialist aircraft and shipping magazines, painting to order.
My father - who worked on the railways - was mad keen on drawing, he
drew aircraft. I just sort of picked it up when I was at school; I had
an excellent art teacher. I actually started studying architecture, but
I packed this course in. The nice thing about architecture is that they
teach you that you can design anything; it gives you a great confidence.
I worked at various jobs. Until 1997 I had worked for thirty years in
the print industry doing anything - origination, the boards, camera work,
proofing. The company went bust. I was so annoyed with the attitude of
the receivers that I vowed never to work for anyone else ever again. My
children were grown up so it was a case of why not?
I’ve got a mind like a sponge. It will soak up things and then
- even years afterwards - I’ll think ‘I know where I’ve
seen that.’ My wife Beryl says I should sleep in the library, because
there are so many books there.
One of the
styles I use is that of Turner. It’s a hundred and fifty years since
Turner died and his work is still controversial today. Turner was heavily
criticised at the time of his work for the way that he shifted the paint
around on his canvas. I taught some architectural students and showed
them the technique of Turner and they went ‘Wow!’ I always
get the same question: “Why do you put down blues and yellows first?”
Because that’s the way that he did it. You will have a different
view of Turner if you do this yourself.
Art has been a very practical outlet as well. It doesn’t matter
whether it is a piece of lettering or a cartoon. My art has always been
an extrovert activity, and the first requirement of an artist is having
the nerve to put a mark down on paper and believe that it will mean something
to somebody else.
I’ve used my art to raise school funds and for local campaigns,
such as to save a bridge which gives access over a Merseyrail line down
to the prom. Then there was the Garden Festival site. It was a wonderful
idea to have gardens there. It was just a shame that nobody realised what
a great asset they actually had. Nobody had the imagination to develop
it further. If you walk down there now you will be as disappointed as
I am.
The latest
campaign I’m involved with is to save the Florrie in the Dingle.
I like the concept of this. The fact that a man built it as a memorial
to his daughter who died of illness in Paris. He did this in a very practical
way by opening a club. Though I can’t figure out why he started
a boys club if it was for his daughter. I don’t know if that was
because - if you looked at the river of that time (1889) - you had three
ships anchored: the Conway that trained officers, the Worcester for training
other ranks and the Akbar - which was basically a reform ship, a floating
borstal. There were complaints - just like today - of anti-social behaviour.
When we put out questionnaires into the community about what people wanted
to see done with the Florrie, we were given sixty-four other possible
uses for the building apart from the ones we had thought of ourselves.
The community has to be involved in saving this building and in deciding
what to do with it. There’s no point saving it if they’re
not.
I don’t think Liverpool should’ve got the Capital of Culture;
Newcastle-Gateshead should’ve got it, because some of their projects
have actually caught the imagination. Since the Capital of Culture bid
went through, the thoughts and ideas of how to present it have been very
poor and unimaginative. If you’re going to do something you should
do it with style. I’ve got doubts about the professionals who are
running the Capital of Culture. For instance, the College of Art here
in Liverpool had an incredible reputation at one time, it had a world
standing. Where’s that gone? We should put Liverpool on the map
again in 2008 by training to build skills and encourage the growth of
art. We need some real vision in this city. More artists should be involved
because - as artists will tell you - there is more than one answer to
a problem.
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