Ffocws #6

Clinton is a landscape painter and wood carver and who has lived near Bala since the early eighties.

He has worked on art projects and exhibitions all over the UK but his chief inspiration for his work is the Welsh landscape.

He is fortunate to have a grandstand view of the landscape from his home on the slopes of Foel Goch.

The ever-shifting weather means that the view is never the same. Spectacular changes can occur in seconds. Clinton might rush for his camera but more often he just stands and watches nature’s show.

He rarely sketches direct from the landscape, preferring to try to capture the images in his mind’s eye, what he considers the distillation of years of looking and absorbing.

There are fragments and remains from thousands of years ago visible everywhere in the rocks, alongside signs of human occupation – ancient burial mounds and hill forts made by people whose labours changed the landscape so profoundly.

Now the altered climate has begun to add another layer as old, stable weather gives way to extremes and weather events which leave their mark. The images Clinton creates are a direct response to all of these things.

All Clinton’s paintings are produced in oil, painted onto glossy card or photo paper using a variety of techniques many of which are derived from print making.

Beth Knight is based near Cardigan, having recently moved back to Wales from Suffolk. Alongside being a wildlife illustrator she produces lino cut artwork inspired by the spirit of nature and the story of landscapes. She creates pieces with depth and atmosphere, developing techniques to capture light, distance and detail – pushing the boundaries of what is expected from lino printing!

Leaving school Rosemary was chosen to begin apprentice style training for a major bank – qualifying as an Illustrator.

Ten years later Rosemary was contracted by Hallmark and freelanced for over twenty years, all the while exhibiting her own paintings in England.

In 2005 Rosemary took a decisive step to relocate to North Wales, still freelancing, though focusing more time on her prime passion of painting.

In 2016 Rosemary fulfilled a dream to return to life afloat cruising the waterways of Britain and discovered a love of textiles.

Returning to Wales in 2023/4 Rosemary continues to paint and exhibit and sells mainly within North Wales.

Dorothy Taylor has worked in Art education for the whole of her 30-year career. On retirement, she moved to live in North Wales and since 2015 has successfully established herself as a landscape painter.

For many years, Dorothy has been inspired by the landscape of Wales with its grand majesty and tradition whilst remaining mindful of its past and the industrial despoilment that accompanied the pursuit of its natural resources. Despite this, she finds that the land has a remarkable ability to recover and regenerate, achieving a fascinating multi layered mix of past and present.

Since moving to Wales, she has been intoxicated by the sheer beauty of her surroundings; interested in reproducing in her work the authenticity of any given place that catches her eye. So, in Dorothy’s eyes the ordinary becomes extraordinary, the colour blue of an open sky, the pattern of interweaving branches on bare winter trees or the minute regrowth of recovering flora after wildfire events, are things that continually motivate her.

Dorothy paints using oils on canvas and often these works are quite large scale. Conversely, she also likes to vary her work regime, painting with water miscible media on paper to produce detailed works that invite the viewer to look long and hard in order to perceive the delicate interplay of shape, colour, pattern and texture.