Roath Park, Cardiff (63)

This is my latest painting that I used for my Christmas cards. The scene is taken from a photo I took in Cardiff one wintery day in December 2009. It was bitterly cold and there was ice on Roath Park lake all day. You can just see this in the foreground of the picture.

Roath Park is Cardiff’s most popular park and when I was studying for my degree in Cardiff I spent many happy hours here. It has recently been awarded the prestigious Green Flag award which recognises its high quality and importance to Cardiff. It was built on 130 acres of ‘reformed’ bogland and the lake covers an area of 30 acres. Roath Park opened to the public in 1894 and still retains a Victorian atmosphere. The lighthouse in the picture was built in 1915.

The painting came together quite easily apart from the lighthouse that was a bit crooked to begin with, and the clocks at the top also needed some fiddling with. I think I got there in the end though!

View from Pwll Deri YHA (6)

This is a painting from a photo I took while walking with Ally on the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in the summer of 2006. We stayed at Pwll Deri youth hostel on the first night. We arrived at this remote hostel perched on a cliff top after a days walk to find that it was closed. So we sat down on the grass and enjoyed the magnificent view while we waited for it to open.

This is another naïve and sketchy painting, but the teasels silhouetted against the sunlight reflected off the sea give this peaceful scene a feeling of drama.

Overstones Farm, Stanage Edge (5)

My fifth painting was of another ‘edge’ – a scene taken from Mum’s trusty Peak District photo book. Stanage Edge in Derbyshire stretches for about 6km and is the largest and most impressive of the gritstone edges, and a popular walking spot.

I was drawn to the photo because of the autumnal colours and the hazy, dream-like quality of the landscape. The farm buildings seem to blend into their surroundings. This is another sketchy, naïve painting but I think it suits the subject very well.

Gritstone Edge (4)

My fourth painting was taken from a photo in a magazine which was called 'Gritstone Edge' I thought this was the name of the place but further research showed this to be a generic term for a type of rock formation. The northern Peak District is bounded on the east and west sides by scarps known as ‘edges’, which are made of coarse sandstones, referred to as ‘grits’.

I painted this scene in record time while waiting for Mum to take me to catch a bus. The time pressure means that this is more sketchy than the first three, and the grain in the paper showing through the pastel gives it more of an ‘unfinished’ look. The painting has rather a naïve feel, which Mum loved - she immediately framed it and hung it on the wall in her conservatory!

Arbor Low stone circle (3)

This was my third painting – another scene from the Peak District photo book. Arbor Low is one of the most important prehistoric sites in Derbyshire and is sometimes referred to as the 'Stonehenge of the Peak District'. The henge was constructed about 2500 BC. No one knows why it was constructed or what it was used for, but it must have been an important focal point for the people of the time.

Like many Derbyshire beauty spots, it can be bleak in winter and stunning on a fine spring morning. This photo was obviously taken on a bleak day, but I loved the unusual black, mauve and lemon sky in this photo.

Hand stone, Beeley Moor (2)

This was my second painting after reconnecting with art in 2006. This scene is another one from the Peak District photo book – of a hand stone on Beeley Moor. On this heather clad moor, some 1,200 feet above sea level, there are over thirty pre-historic barrows and cairns.

Beeley Moor can be bleak but I was drawn to this photo by the strong colours, particularly the dramatic purple sky. I also liked the way the hand stone sits in what resembles a nest.

William Clough Valley (1)

The next batch of blogs will focus on my early work. Those of you who have been following my blog may remember that in my first post I mentioned that in 2006, on a visit back to the UK when I was staying with my Mum for a while, I picked up her pastels and did a painting. This is that first painting.

The subject, William Clough Valley in Derbyshire, came from the trusty book of Peak District photos. Although it is quite simplistic in style it was enough of a likeness to the photo to inspire me to take up art again.

By comparing this painting with my latest work (the cat portrait below) you can get an idea of how my style has developed over the last four years.