When his one-man show opens at the Masterworks Gallery at the end of the month, Jonah Jones' fans may be in for a surprise. The young artist who has made a name for himself in artistic circles with his vibrant intensity of colours and textures, is devoting the entire show to the art of rugby.

"No, I don't see anything strange about that,'' he says. "I started putting a few figures in my landscapes some time ago and gradually found I was becoming more drawn to the people than the landscape. I started off with just two figures -- usually, my wife and my dog. When I paint rugby players, I am dealing with the shapes and contortions of heads and bodies in close contact.

I think there's a definite similarly between rugby players and soldiers in combat. So when I go off to England on holiday I am planning to go off and some study Delacroix paintings.'' The Masterworks show will consist of around a dozen pictures. "I had a one-man show at the Edinburgh Gallery last year and I think I put in about 50.

That was far too many,'' admits the refreshingly modest Mr. Jones, "but it was my first show and I got a bit carried away.'' The exhibition, which opens on October 30 for two weeks, will tie in with this year's annual World Rugby Classic which opens on November 9. A keen player himself, Mr. Jones says that these days, he spends more time as a spectator.

The sport runs in the family, however, as his brother is Richard Pool-Jones, a flanker who got his first cap for England this year and plays for the Paris team, Staade Francais. "I'm hoping that my rugby pals will come along to my opening -- I don't suppose all that many of them normally go to art shows!'' Mr. Jones, who is a sous chef, spends most of his spare time in his studio at the Arts Centre at Dockyard. "I even moved to Somerset so that I could be as close as possible to the studio. I do a lot of experimental painting. Some of it works, and some doesn't, but I think it's important to try new things. With the rugby paintings, I've found that I like working on a larger scale, so I may go on to murals next.'' With his work now regularly accepted by the Windjammer and Heritage House galleries ("I'm really chuffed that they take my paintings''), he says he appreciates the fact that both the Society of Arts and the Arts Centre have encouraged him from the very start. "Art societies are very important because that's where artists get their first chance and can continue to show their more experimental work.'' Mr. Jones began painting in 1992, when he attended the two-year full time Fine Arts programme at the Bermuda College. He was fortunate, he says, to have received "excellent'' teaching in figure drawing from Diana Amos. "Since then I've also attended evening classes with Roland Russell, and sometimes a group of us get together to share the cost of renting a model for figure drawing.'' Formerly a member of the Royal Marines where he trained as a chef, Mr. Jones says he sees a connection between the creativity of cooking and painting: "I love to cook, but you won't find any recipes in my house. For me, cooking is instinctive and intuitive -- and it's the same with my painting -- big flavours and clashing colours.'' He admits however, that his love of cooking "pales'' beside his love for painting. "I do like the creative side of cooking, which is one reason why I enjoy being a sous chef. Head chefs don't do much cooking, you see. It's all paper work, managing people and writing menus.'' The next big item on his artistic agenda will be next year's biennial group show, `Growing'. "I'm really looking forward to that because painting is a lonely process. I usually work in a vacuum so it will be wonderful to paint with other artists where we can talk and have some interaction about our work.'' Asked about the main influences on his work so far, Jonah Jones names the American artist Edward Hopper for his "tangible loneliness'', Caravaggio for anger and contrast, Vincent van Gogh for "his texture, madness and colour and also Sheilagh Head, who has been and remains my mentor.'' `Rugby' opens at the Masterworks Gallery at 97 Front Street, on Friday, October 30 and runs for two weeks.

SPORTING LANDSCAPE -- Artist Jonah Jones' series, `Rugby' opens at the Masterworks Gallery on October 30, for a two week run. The exhibit is timed to coincide with the World Rugby Classic, which starts on November 9.