N.B., Click on images to zoom.
Lone Sheep at Ogwen
Oil Painting on Panel
Private Collection
I was born in Yorkshire. I studied in Manchester and London. And to my best knowledge I am only a quarter Welsh.
Yet I now think of myself as a Welsh painter. I suppose this is the case because my wife Mari is 100% Welsh; because we have been coming to Wales to paint since we were both students; because I think the Welsh landscape is the most moving that I have seen; because I'm a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy; and because when I settled down to full-time painting, I came here to North Wales with Mari to work here in our chosen environment.
Of course all current painters have the inspiration, and the occasionally daunting example, of the great artists who form the Welsh landscape tradition.
Yet I now think of myself as a Welsh painter. I suppose this is the case because my wife Mari is 100% Welsh; because we have been coming to Wales to paint since we were both students; because I think the Welsh landscape is the most moving that I have seen; because I'm a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy; and because when I settled down to full-time painting, I came here to North Wales with Mari to work here in our chosen environment.
Of course all current painters have the inspiration, and the occasionally daunting example, of the great artists who form the Welsh landscape tradition.
So it's no surprise, given the stunning subject matter, that there exists such a strong tradition of landscape painting here. Not only by the many excellent local artists but also by artists from 'abroad', particularly from England.
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By common consent the Welsh landscape tradition (in fact, the British landscape tradition) kicks off with Richard Wilson.
'Snowdon from Llyn Nantlle'
Oil Painting : Walker Art Gallery.
'Lake Avernus'
Oil Painting 1765
(In his early 'Italian' style).
Here's a quick biog from Wikipedia:
- The son of a clergyman, Richard Wilson was born in Penegoes, Montgomeryshire. The family was an old and respected one, and Wilson was first cousin to Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden.
- In 1729 he went to London where he began as a portrait painter, under the apprenticeship of an obscure artist, Thomas Wright. From 1750 to 1757 he was in Italy and adopted landscape on the advice of Francesco Zuccarelli. Painting in Italy and afterwards in England, he was the first major British painter to primarily concentrate on landscape. He composed well, but saw and rendered only the general effects of nature, thereby creating a personal, ideal style influenced by Claude Lorrain and the Dutch landscape tradition. John Ruskin wrote that Wilson "paints in a manly way, and occasionally reaches exquisite tones of colour".
- He concentrated on painting Italianate landscapes and landscapes based upon classical literature, but when his painting, The Destruction of the Children of Niobe (c.1759-60), won high acclaim, he gained many commissions from wealthy families seeking classical portrayals of their estates.
- His landscapes were acknowledged as an influence by Constable, John Crome and Turner. Wilson died in Colomendy, Denbighshire, and is buried in the grounds of the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Mold, Flintshire.
So, Wilson is buried only 10.6 miles from where Mari and I live in Ruthin. I quite like the thought that I live so close to the originator of the British landscape tradition - (so call me sentimental!)
'The Bard'
Oil on Canvas, 1774, National Museum, Cardiff,
by Thomas Jones.
by Thomas Jones.
was a pupil of Richard Wison and was best known in his lifetime as a painter of Welsh and Italian landscapes in the style of his master. However, Jones's reputation grew in the 20th century when more unconventional works by him, ones not been intended for public consumption, came to light. Most notable among these is a series of views of Naples which he painted from 1782 to 1783.
By breaking with the conventions of classical landscape painting in favour of direct observation, they look forward to the work of Camille Corot and the Barbizon School in the 19th century.
His autobiography, Memoirs of Thomas Jones of Penkerrig, went unpublished until 1951 but is now recognised as an important source of information on the 18th-century art world.
'A Wall in Naples'
Oil Paint on Paper, 1782, National Gallery, London,
by Thomas Jones.
by Thomas Jones.
This very modern-looking study was made in Italy. It could have been painted yesterday. It looks so modern simply because it is painted directly from life, with the intention of visual accuracy, and so has no stylistic 'colouring' by which to date it. That's one of the main virtues of the 'truth to nature' approach.
(It's instructive to compare it with his 'The Bard', above, which does not take the same simple 'truth to nature' approach, and therefore, by comparison end up looking stylised, theatrical, and dated).
Joseph Wright is known primarily as a painter of figures, particularly evoking the Industrial Revolution, but he also painted brilliant landscapes. This is one of the works which he made in North Wales.
(It's instructive to compare it with his 'The Bard', above, which does not take the same simple 'truth to nature' approach, and therefore, by comparison end up looking stylised, theatrical, and dated).
'Landscape near Bedgellert'
Oil Painting 1790-5 by Joseph Wright of Derby.
'Flint Castle'
Watercolour, JMW Turner.
Joseph Mallord William Turner is probably (or definitely, in my own opinion) the greatest British painter. Certainly his picture 'The Fighting Temeraire' has been voted as the nations most popular painting amongst the British public. He constantly travelled and created the most exquisite sketches and paintings throughout Great Britain and across Europe.
Here are a few of the wonderful pictures he made in Wales.
Here are a few of the wonderful pictures he made in Wales.
'Criccieth Castle, North Wales
Watercolour, 1836, British Museum, by JMW Turner.
'View in Wales:Mountain Scene with Village and Castle - Evening'
Oil Paint on Canvas, 1799-1880, Tate Gallery, by JMW Turner.
'A Welsh Funeral'
1847-1850 by David Cox.
Cox was born on 29 April 1783 in Deritend, Birmingham, the son of a blacksmith, who went on to become one of the most important figures in British Art during the so-called Golden Age of watercolour painting.
He was considered by his contemporaries to be rivalled only by Constable in his portrayal of nature's moods and the British weather.
In 1805 he made his first of many trips to Wales, with Charles Barber, his earliest dated watercolours are from this year. Throughout his lifetime he made numerous sketching tours to the Home Counties, North Wales, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Devon.
The Welsh artist Charles William Mansel Lewis was among those who painted common working people, with varying measures of realism or picturesqueness.
'Snowdonia'
Oil Painting by Mansel Lewis.
The Welsh artist Charles William Mansel Lewis was among those who painted common working people, with varying measures of realism or picturesqueness.
The "Betws-y-Coed artist's colony" was one of the groups forming the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art in 1881; this was always a group for exhibiting rather than a teaching institution, based in Conwy, until 1994 in Plas Mawr.
'Deserted Farm, Llanrhuddlad'
Oil Painting by Kyffin Williams.
Sir John 'Kyffin' Williams, KBE, RA, (9 May 1918 – 1 September 2006) was a Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll on the Island of Anglesey. Williams is widely regarded as the defining artist of Wales during the 20th century
His works typically drew inspiration from the Welsh landscape and farmlands. His works appear in many galleries all over Britain and is on permanent exhibition in Oriel Ynys Môn, Anglesey.
He was President of the Royal Cambrian Academy and was appointed a member of the Royal Academy in 1974.
So there are currently many, many painters working in Wales, who form part of the ongoing British landscape tradition.
I realise that for the last century or so, most artistic traditions have been deliberately ignored or overturned, and the ideal has been to work outside any tradition. Yet the fragmentation and sometimes plain infantilism evident in the search for novelty during the 'modernist' period, justifies in my mind those less popular attempts by many artists to stay within, and to enrich, a tradition.
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Music:
Beyond painting, my other preoccupation is music - particularly songwriting.
I've recently started, just for fun, linking the two preoccupations together, by featuring a few paintings along with one of my songs. If you have a spare minute, you're welcome to take a look. . . . .
.......... these are on YouTube, and I'll add more as time goes by.
They will also be found on iTunes, Spotify, CDBaby, etc, - (my intention is to put a new song on monthly from September 2017)
Also in the last period I've been recording some songs with some friends - have a listen here if you have the time.
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ADVANCE NOTICE
I'm exhibiting a room-full of pictures at the Royal Cambrian Academy in Conwy running from 27th May for six weeks or so.
The exhibition is called 'Paintings by Harry Robertson' (which I thought was a rather snappy title).
It will include a few new pictures although, as I tend to work quite slowly, (and as I've just recently completed another one-man show), the majority of the work will have been exhibited before in other places.
Nevertheless, I do hope you can find the time to drop in.
Opening Hours : 11am - 5pm Tuesday - Saturday
The Exhibition runs from May 27th to July 6th.
Royal Cambrian Academy, Crown Lane, Conwy. LL32 8AN. 01492 593413
The Gallery is located in the centre of Conwy just off the High Street behind Plas Mawr.
The nearest train station is at Llandudno Junction, 3km from the Gallery and served by the North Wales Coast route.Services run approximately hourly throughout the week. The Arriva Cymru (service 5) bus stop is 200m away from the gallery and runs at 30 minute intervals on weekdays.
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quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz
Any idea who painted this horses head, and in which painting?
(The answer will be in the next posting.)
And here's the answer from the last posting -
'Industrial Farm Family'
George Scholz, 1920
George Scholz, 1920
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
"Landscape painting is a concentrated, meditative journey in observation."
Van Waldron
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