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A Life Drawing

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Dr David English, former president of RSO
"A Life Drawing is one man's odyssey from a farm boyhood on land which has since disappeared under a motorway to a successful working life as a well appreciated artist. Having fun farmed a flock of sheep for ten years I can vouch for the truth that Geoff's boyhood was a lot harder than mine, but his adventures with the flock echoed many a shared experience."
Colin Luckhurst, Country Diarist in The Guardian
"Geoff Jones seemed destined to be a farmer like generations of his family before him. He found it an unrelenting chore of hard work seven days a week: "I even grew to hate cows". But the construction of the M50 put an abrupt end to his agricultural career. Without any formal art training, he became a commercial illustrator; much in demand for his comic strips. He graduated to picture stories for many publications and then worked on more than 500 TV commercials. And now comes his debut as a writer - a sensitively composed memoir, full of wry comment and reflections on a radically changed society and the terrain of the Severn valley he knows so well. And as a former talented club cricketer, his love of the game is never far away."
David Foot, West Country Life
"Geoff Jones is a resourceful man, an engaging writer and a talented artist. Love Country Life, love this book."
Derek Hodgson, The Independent
"An even newer author is Geoff Jones. Take his glistening little gem just for your flight. A Life Drawing (Bank House Books, £8.99) is 150 pages of delight, a potted life story of a farmer's boy whose land was desecrated when they built the M50 motorway - so, naturally, after many adventures he became a seriously spot-on professional artist. I've one of his village cricket specials on my wall at home: so has Richie Benaud on his in Sydney. Jones should be the local star at Cheltenham's autumn literary festival."
Frank Keating, The Oldie. Frank is of course also an award-winning journalist for the Guardian newspaper.



Descended from many generations of farming stock, Geoff Jones's expectations of becoming a farmer himself were curtailed when the powers-that-be decided that the much-loved family farm was earmarked for decimation by the construction of the M50 motorway, viaduct and bridge over the River Severn. There was never any mention of compensation, and nothing to do but sell up and depart.

Faced with having to make a completely different start in life in his mid-twenties, with little money and despite being without any formal art training, he decided to become a commercial illustrator.

The fact that comic strips appeared every week was the sole reason that his efforts were channelled in that particular direction. Luck was with him and for the next twenty years he drew picture stories for almost fifty different publications.

Times changed though, and comics became fewer, so he spent the following twelve years working practically every waking hour to produce endless storyboard sequences for over 500 TV commercials.Later still a renewed interest in painting watercolours led to further diversity, including a successful exhibition and an unexpected market for paintings on the Internet.

Illustrated throughout, this delightfully wry book tells the whole story.