3 Lle - Aneurin Jones 3 Lle


3 Lle - Aneurin Jones

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-You reach a certain age,

-and all you want to do is escape.

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-But then you want to go back.

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-I'm at that age now

-where I want to go back!

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-It's impossible

-to relive those days...

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-..but I can do it in my imagination.

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-It's a sacred place.

-It has significance for me.

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-It's more about feelings than logic.

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-I can't escape my background.

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-It's called Pwll Ucha'.

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-There is a Pwll Ucha'

-and a Pwll Isa'.

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-This is where I spent

-the first two years of my life.

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-That isn't the house

-in which I was born...

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-..but I lived here

-from the age of two onwards...

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-..before going to primary school

-in the village.

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-I lived here with my family -

-my eldest brother, Tudor...

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-..and Gron, who's now a farmer,

-was born and raised here too.

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-We then moved as a family

-to a farm lower down the valley.

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-It's a wonderful place.

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-The silence made it a paradise.

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-There were no roads.

-We were surrounded by nature.

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-An ideal location for a poet,

-artist or musician.

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-We were five children...

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-..and two cousins,

-the sons of a preacher...

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-..who were worse than us.

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-They'd come here

-for their summer holidays.

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-We used to slide down the roof.

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-I'd think twice about doing it now.

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-We'd all jump out

-of the upstairs window...

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-..except for five-year-old Mansel

-who we pushed.

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-He had to learn the hard way!

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-The main difference back then...

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-..was that people

-didn't feel burdened by life.

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-They'd happily go about

-their pursuits.

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-That might be

-a romantic view of life...

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-..because they were hard times.

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-But, in the main,

-I think people nowadays...

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-..aren't as happy

-as they were back then.

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-Everyone had their own pursuits...

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-..which gave their lives meaning.

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-These days, the majority of people

-have no meaning in their lives.

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-It's no wonder that people are

-forever seeking means of escapism.

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-I didn't know the meaning

-of the word 'lonely'.

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-I was never lonely.

-I could live with my dreams.

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-They're an inherent part of you,

-anyway.

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-I'd walk down to the river

-and over that way.

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-There were lots of plum trees.

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-And a fountain.

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-What else was there to want in life?

-I had everything back then.

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-Children always want to

-make something and draw pictures...

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-..without being conscious of it.

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-We were interested in art

-as a family...

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-..because my father

-took an interest in it.

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-He'd draw things like horses,

-chapels and bridges.

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-As children, we spend a lot

-of our time mimicking other people.

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-We mimic our parents.

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-They have

-the greatest influence on us.

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-I never watched television.

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-I'd never been to a gallery.

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-But my father and I could both draw.

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-He'd left school

-long before I'd started.

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-The first time I met Aneurin...

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-..was when he came to school to meet

-Miss Parry, our primary teacher.

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-He brought her drawings

-which she'd hang on the walls.

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-He spent time talking to us.

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-He was an art student

-in Swansea back then.

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-It was unusual for a boy from

-this area to go to art college.

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-People had heard of Van Gogh

-chopping off his ear...

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-..and starving himself in a garret.

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-But they didn't think a Pwll Ucha'

-lad would go on to do the same.

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-I admired someone like Aneurin.

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-Going away to college

-was a big achievement.

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-Then he returned.

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-His drawings decorated

-the school walls...

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-..and Miss Parry asked us to

-write down what we liked about them.

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-It's surprising because

-I don't often come here...

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-..yet it's reawakened old feelings

-and sparked the imagination.

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-It's like therapy.

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-Instead of going to the doctor,

-people should come here.

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-They needn't go further

-than the fountain!

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-Exactly.

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-It's a strange feeling when you

-move away to raise a family...

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-..because although you lay down

-roots in a new place...

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-..you never really forget

-the first ones.

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-They're still

-an inherent part of you.

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-They're bound to be...

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-..because your family has been

-here for generations.

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-These things don't happen by

-accident. You're part of the land.

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-I know that it's a cliche, but

-it's true, you belong to an area.

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-It saddens me a little,

-if I'm honest.

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-You can't relive the past.

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-But it's possible in a dream.

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-This is like a dream for me.

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-Our family

-was the last to live here.

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-There's a tendency to live

-on memories.

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-And that is what's happened here.

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-I can't come to Swansea

-without paying this place a visit.

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-It's as simple as that.

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-I park the car somewhere

-and instinctively I walk in.

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-It's part of you, or you've been

-part of it, at one time or another.

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-When I see the masterpieces,

-memories come flooding back.

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-As an art student, great emphasis

-was placed on technique.

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-I was trained, among others, by

-three or four accomplished men...

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-..who were exceptionally talented

-individuals.

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-You could come in here and relax.

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-You'd study the works of art

-and try to deconstruct them.

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-This is incredible because

-the technique is totally unique.

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-There is only one Alfred James.

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-An incredible craftsman.

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-He constantly strived

-for perfection.

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-He was inspired by his subject...

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-..and by deep emotion...

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-..and it was something

-he was intent on finishing.

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-In some respect,

-you could say he was a scientist...

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-..because he wanted to take

-his time...

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-..to complete something that was

-as close to perfect as possible.

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-Notice the detail in the hair and

-the different texture in the paint.

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-He had a unique technique.

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-I can't imagine anyone else

-painting in the same way.

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-He was an incredibly gifted artist.

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-His work is certainly

-one of the gallery's treasures.

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-He brought a sense of unity

-to everything in his work.

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-I did my own experimenting

-across the road.

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-It was a case of going from the barn

-to the academy, more or less.

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-It was definitely an eye-opener.

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-It was a big experiment. You were

-going out into the big, wide world.

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-You had to grow up quickly.

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-I'd go home

-and show them some of my work...

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-..including some nude paintings,

-just for fun...

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-..and they'd start worrying.

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-I'll never forget my first visit.

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-I knew it was a vast building...

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-..and I knew there were crafts

-on display here...

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-..as well as large paintings.

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-I remember walking up the stairs

-and being drawn to that corner...

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-..to one of Augustus John's

-small drawings.

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-I was shocked because

-I'd never seen anything like it.

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-The artist could obviously draw...

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-..and his drawings were certainly

-better than his paintings.

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-I've never forgotten that.

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-I see that small drawing

-in my dreams sometimes.

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-Despite its simplicity,

-it spoke to you.

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-After college,

-I went to Celtic Studios...

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-..where I worked with stained glass,

-as many others did at the time.

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-But I soon got fed up because

-it didn't require much creativity.

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-So my friend and I decided to become

-bus conductors instead.

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-It was a completely different world.

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-There was certainly

-no creativity involved!

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-One afternoon,

-we were on a bus going to Sketty...

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-..and one of the passengers

-happened to be Kenneth Hancock...

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-..Principal of the college.

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-He said,

-"What are you doing here, Jones?"

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-I said, "Collecting fares, sir."

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-And he more or less told me

-to leave that to somebody else...

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-..and to stop wasting my time.

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-He asked me to go and see him

-at the college.

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-So I went,

-and he offered me a part-time job.

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-A Saturday-morning teaching slot.

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-After a while, he asked me

-how I was getting along...

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-..and I said I was doing better than

-I expected, and I was enjoying it.

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-"Get into teaching then," he said.

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-In the meantime,

-I'd applied for a post...

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-..at a new school,

-Ysgol Y Preseli, in Crymych.

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-I was offered the job.

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-And that's where I taught

-for 30 years.

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-For the majority of that time

-I was very happy.

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-I'm happy they persuaded me

-to exhibit my work here...

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-..alongside

-the work of Meirion, my son.

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-They've pleased us both...

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-..in terms of it being

-a joint exhibition.

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-But more importantly than that,

-we're friends before being artists.

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-The line is continuing.

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-It doesn't finish in

-one particular place or time.

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-It's a continuation

-of the race, in a way.

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-It gives me

-a great deal of pleasure.

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-The people who buy my son's work...

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-..differ from those who buy mine.

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-Again, I think that's

-a generational thing.

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-If I exhibit in Cardiganshire...

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-..the Cardis are always eager

-to buy the work...

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-..because it appeals to them.

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-They seem to react to the rural

-folk and horses in my paintings.

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-But there's more going on

-in my son's work.

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-He paints foreign countries

-and totally different subjects.

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-It's right that his work

-is different from mine...

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-..because he hasn't had the same

-experiences as me.

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-At the end of the day, it's all

-about what you've learnt and felt...

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-..in your early life.

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-It stays with you.

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-I like spending a day here

-now and again.

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-I'm a son of the soil.

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-There's an old Irish saying...

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-..you can take a man from the bog...

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-..but you can't take the bog

-out of the man.

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-That happens to be true in my case.

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-Here, I'm not in the countryside,

-surrounded by cobs and farms.

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-Instead, I go out

-in search of inspiration.

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-I don't so much paint on location...

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-..but it's where I get my ideas.

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-I make sketches...

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-..then come back here

-and start the creative work.

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-You could call this my headquarters.

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-The place where it all happens.

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-There is 50 years' worth...

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-..of inspiration in here.

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-It was once a garage

-where we kept the car.

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-There's plenty of room...

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-..until it's time to exhibit.

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-The paintings then start to pile up,

-of course.

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-But, as a rule, there's enough space

-for myself and my son to work here.

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-We have to do something

-with that stallion over here.

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-Apart from that, I think we're done.

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-I can't remember how many

-masterpieces have been created here.

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-As the years have passed...

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-..I think we've spent more time

-discussing than painting.

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-Despite going to art college...

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-..spending time in here was

-the real education for me...

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-..in terms of visual art.

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-I'd often come home from school...

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-..and sit on a milking stool

-for half an hour...

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-..watching him work.

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-I'd notice the colours he'd use...

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-..and the different paint textures.

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-It just happened gradually

-like that...

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-..over a period of decades.

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-Out of the composition process...

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-..we've created about

-four or five paintings.

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-There's nowhere like this place.

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-It's where my imagination

-has free rein.

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-You're creating

-a work of substance...

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-..that makes sense and brings joy

-to the artist himself and to others.

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-One painting leads to another.

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-The one I've just finished

-is propped up against the wall.

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-It inspires the next one...

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-..which tends to develop quickly.

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-Who knows what happens when the

-imagination is allowed to run free?

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-Creativity comes from a part of us

-we don't understand...

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-..and where deeper meanings

-are hidden.

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-It should always remain a mystery.

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-Much of that has influenced the way

-I approach my painting.

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-I don't profess to be a great master

-because the great masters of old...

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-..especially those

-of the Renaissance...

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-..had their own agenda.

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-When Michelangelo painted

-the Sistine Chapel ceiling...

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-..he depicted himself.

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-He painted himself in as the devil.

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-I've flattered myself here.

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-I'm self-important in this one.

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-I'm quite the centrepiece.

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-No, I'm only kidding.

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-I just liked the pattern it created.

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-Every painting

-begins with a pattern.

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-By now, many people have come

-to know about this place.

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-I get phone calls

-from farmers and cob owners...

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-..in mid Wales and Ceredigion...

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-..who say,

-"Do you have any cobs, Jones?"

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-And I say, "No, but I have plenty

-of paintings."

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-"Can we come down to see them?"

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-So they come down, have a look

-and are taken with them.

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-"How much is that, Jones?"

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-Sometimes, I put the price up

-if I know the customers!

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-"How much will you knock off?"

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-And you're straight back

-in the mart again.

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-It doesn't bother me

-because it's a bit of fun.

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-But the happiness it gives people

-is immeasurable.

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-I'm reliving the past.

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-I'm reliving it through my son,

-Meirion, and my two grandsons.

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-It's the continuation

-of the family line...

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-..and the continuation

-of this creativity...

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-..which is as alive as ever.

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-I'd like to think that they'll have

-children of their own one day...

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-..so that the line continues.

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-Some people argue

-that a particular gift...

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-..is passed down seven generations.

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-It doesn't disappear completely

-after that...

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-..but it's watered down

-and weakened somewhat.

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-The seventh generation's gift

-is as strong as the first.

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-The three places are important

-because they tell a story...

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-..and represent periods in my life.

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-My upbringing within a special

-family in a special place.

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-And the discovery

-of a whole new world in Swansea.

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-It was a bohemian lifestyle...

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-..compared with the respectability

-of country life.

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-And yet I returned.

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-I chose Mynachlogddu, Crymych,

-and all these places...

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-..because they gave me

-an opportunity...

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-..to relive certain times.

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-In some way,

-my paintings are like old friends.

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-People can put a name to them.

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-And there is a definite

-similarity...

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-..because real people

-are depicted...

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-..in my paintings.

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-The country, its land...

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-..its animals and people...

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-..are Aneurin Jones's imaginary

-and creative bread and butter.

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