Jones exhibited artistic promise at an early age, even entering drawings into exhibitions of children's artwork. He wrote that from the age of six he knew that he would devote his life to art, although he did not read fluently until the age of eight. In 1909, at 14, he persuaded his parents to allow him to abandon traditional schooling and enter Camberwell Art School. There he studied under A. S. Hartrick, who had worked with Van Gogh and Gauguin, Reginald Savage and Herbert Cole and introduced him to work of the Impressionists and Pre-Raphaelites. In addition, Jones developed a knowledge of literature, which it was mandatory to study at Camberwell.