Born and bred in Birmingham, painter Jon Jones is no stranger to the city's dark side. For his Spring/Summer 2021 release, he has mixed fictional scenes with historical research (and a little artistic license) for four haunting new limited edition prints. In this article, he takes us through the backstreets of Birmingham and into the dens of the legendary Peaky Blinders gang.

Shifting in time from the real-life reign of the Peaky Blinders in the late 19th century and early 1900s to the drama-filled scenes of World War One and the Prohibition years of the 1920s allowed Jon to frame his art in a new perspective. These hand-varnished canvasses are not just the result of intense research alongside the West Midlands Police Museum, but an exploration of the themes that defined the era, including family, survival and brotherhood.

Like the smoky streets of Small Heath, where the gang ruled through violence and corruption, Jon's works are cloaked in shadow. The contrast between light and dark - also known as chiaroscuro - was recreated using the giclée printing process, which involves spraying microscopic dots of pigment-based ink to closely emulate the incredible detail of the original painting. Following this, the works were hand-embellished with a special combination of varnishes and gels to give them texture and depth.