EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 12 © 2015 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

5 and exciting artists of the 21st century. Andrew Jones was born in Boulder Colorado and raised on a farm. His upbringing was consequentially isolated, and it was to his imagination that he would inevitably retreat to create other worlds within the pages of his sketchbooks. It was one of his pre-school teachers who first noticed the boy’s exceptional talents, when he created a drawing of a caterpillar. Andrew’s parents, who were both painters, nurtured his development and enrolled him in art classes at the age of six. These were followed by private lessons with Rita Irangan, who helped further channel his instinctive talents. It was at the tender age of eleven that Andrew had his first brush with mortality, when he underwent surgery for a brain tumour. The “Android” prefix (a name that his uncle had jokingly bestowed upon him some three years earlier) seemed the perfect monicker for his rebirth via the intervention of cutting-edge medical technology and the metal plate he carries in his head—a visible testimony to his embodiment of a cybernetic future in which organic and digital technology combine and coalesce to create new opportunities for pushing the boundaries of creativity. But it was also the moment when, despite his youth, he was awakened to the fleeting nature of life. As a result, he not only determined to regard each and every day as a gift, to be maximised in terms of exploring and sharing his creativity, but it also awakened within him a deep spirituality which has informed and guided so much of his artistic development ever since. His art education continued when he attended academic portraiture and fine art classes at the Boulder Academy of Fine Arts, where a teacher named Elvie Davis made a profound impression upon him. She had received tuition in art from one of John Singer Sargent’s apprentices, and it was she that introduced Andrew to ABOVE: 'Jackie', Jones' haunting and atmospheric portrait creates it's own unique landscape. FACING PAGE: 'Chronicles', Jones' art is the perfect realisation of traditional iconography blended with cutting-edge digital software. LEFT: 'Beauty in Perspective'. This was created in Jones' 2013 MAPS portrait workshop.