Aled Prichard Jones was born in Bangor, North Wales in 1945 and lived in Snowdonia until leaving to study architecture at Bath University from 1964 to 1969. After initially working in Aberystwyth, and then Hull, he moved with his wife Mary and young family to Pembrokeshire, where he worked as an architect until retirement in 2000. He then took up his painting full-time and after a brief period living in the North East of England has now moved back home to live in North Wales. 

He has walked, climbed and loved the mountains of Snowdonia since childhood.  The majority of his paintings are inspired by the sense of place and atmosphere of the Eryri landscapes.  He invariably paints in pastels, working quickly to capture the magic, mystery, strength and beauty of where he lives.

"I paint in pastels because I like their immediacy.  Pastels help me keep the painting alive and their brilliant colours are ideal for capturing the fleeting effects of light and the ever-changing mood of the Snowdonia mountains and lakes.  Pastels are everlasting, do not fade so retain their colour and vibrancy forever.  I am fascinated by the effect of light on water and always come back to trying to catch the movement, the glare and reflections in the mountain lakes and rivers.  I work on strongly textured sandpaper surfaces because they grip the soft pastel so well.  It also enables me to layer the pastel without the colours getting muddy and helps to keep the painting process loose and spontaneous."