Wales Feed

The Dali of Dunvant

2014-03-07T12:37:31+00:00

Wales has produced many fine artists over the years but none are more significant or impressive than the Swansea-born painter Ceri Giraldus Richards.

Ceri was born on 6 June 1903 in the tiny village of Dunvant, just outside Swansea. His father was a tin plate worker but he was also a gifted musician, bi-lingual poet and conductor for the Dunvant Male Voice Choir.

As a consequence of all this artistic endeavour, Ceri and his siblings grew up in a cultured environment where all three were taught to play the piano, appreciate music and literature and enjoy the natural world.

It certainly paid dividends for the young painter as Ceri Richards was deeply motivated both by music and nature throughout his working life.

He particularly enjoyed the scenery of Gower, an area through which he had roamed as a child and adolescent.

Aged eighteen Ceri enrolled at the Swansea School of Art as a full-time student but it was during a week-long summer school at Gregynog Hall in 1923 that he began to realise his full potential talent.

At Gregynog he saw canvases by painters like Van Gogh and Renoir and was motivated to apply for a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London.

Ceri's application was successful and he duly moved to England. Apart from a brief period during the Second World War when he was Head of Painting at the Cardiff College of Art, he remained in England but never forgot his Welsh roots.

His first solo exhibition was in 1930 at the Glyn Vivian Gallery in Swansea and he was soon being hailed as an artist of some consequence - exhibiting with artists such as John Piper.

Ceri Richards' Major Minor screen print

He was renowned for his superb draughtmanship but was also able to absorb European influences and incorporate them into his own work.

Picasso and Kandinsky were both great influences on his work which gradually moved towards surrealism.

Ceri Richards was more than just a painter though and constantly sought to express his ideas and talent in the most appropriate settings.

He produced fine stained glass windows for places such as Derby Cathedral and the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

He was also interested in architecture and the process of illustration. It was in this field that he produced magnificent designs and illustrations for the work of Welsh poets Dylan Thomas and Vernon Watkins.

Ceri Richards died on 9 November 1971, renowned as one of Britain's most influential creative artists.

These days his work is held in a variety of venues including the National Museum in Cardiff, the Glyn Vivian Gallery in Swansea and The Tate in London which has a collection of over 90 paintings and other works.

It’s interesting that two of Wales' most celebrated creative artists, Ceri Richards and Dylan Thomas, came from the same town and created their art in more or less the same era but never really knew each other.

Ceri only met Dylan Thomas a few weeks before he set off on his final reading tour to America and was devastated by the poet's untimely death.

Following his death, Ceri immediately set about commemorating Dylan and his poetry in a series of paintings.

2014 is the centenary of the poet's birth and an exhibition of Ceri's paintings, celebrating Dylan Thomas and his work - is opening at the Martin Tinney Gallery, Cardiff on 6 March.

Ceri Richards - the Dylan Thomas Works is an exhibition celebrating Dylan's poetry through Ceri's magnificent paintings. It centres on the poem - The Force that Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower which Ceri Richards painted in 1965.

The exhibition is an opportunity for anyone interested in the work of either Ceri Richards or Dylan Thomas to appreciate art and literature working in total fusion.

Unfamiliar with his work? Watch a slideshow of 90 paintings by Ceri Richards on BBC Your Paintings.

Artist Claudia Williams on turning 80, a new exhibition and a book about her life

2013-10-01T13:09:59+00:00

There is an intimacy about Claudia Williams' paintings that draws the viewer right into the very thick of the scene she is depicting.

Whether it's a family relaxing on the beach or a couple engrossed in a chess game as their children read a bedtime story in the background, her pictures immediately establish empathy with their subject matter, capturing gestures expertly in the way only a true observer of life can.

Claudia turned 80 in August and a show of 70 of her paintings, with several new works included, has just opened at the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff.

Detail of Three and the Dog. Image copyright: Claudia Williams/Martin Tinney Gallery

It coincides with the publication of a new illustrated book about her life and work, An Intimate Acquaintance, written by Harry Hauser and Robert Meyrick.

The exhibition of the same name acts as a sort of retrospective but also reveals a confidence not as apparent in her early paintings, which has grown far stronger and more evident over the years.

An only child, Claudia's aptitude for drawing was encouraged from a young age and led to her winning a scholarship to attend Chelsea School of Art at the age of 16.

In 1954 she moved to north Wales and married the artist Gwilym Prichard. In the early 1980s, when their three sons and adopted daughter had left home, they travelled through Europe. They settled in France in 1985, where they lived for 15 years and where Claudia won huge acclaim for her work.

In 1995 she was awarded the Silver Medal by the Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters in Paris, in recognition of her contribution to the arts in France.

The couple returned to Wales in 2000 to be closer to their seven grandchildren and settled in Tenby, as Claudia has always felt the need to be near the sea and it wasn’t too far from the mountainous landscapes so loved by Gwilym.

Detail of The Family, Chess. Image copyright: Claudia Williams/Martin Tinney Gallery

Claudia told me how she believes her power of observation comes from having always felt like something of an outsider.

"After the war my parents wanted to move further away from London. They bought a cottage in Criccieth and moved to this area that was Welsh speaking, but we couldn’t speak Welsh.

"Eventually I met and married a Welsh-speaking man but I never mastered the language.

"I think I have always been an observer and am obsessed with different gestures and attitudes. People have said that helps them build a rapport with the people in my paintings.

"It's nice when people say they feel they can make up stories about the characters in my paintings because they feel at home with them."

Claudia was elected to the Royal Cambrian Academy in 1979 and she is an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University.

Claudia Williams' By the Pool. Image copyright: Claudia Williams/Martin Tinney Gallery

A hugely popular retrospective was held at the National Library of Wales in 2000, and an exhibition of her powerful Tryweryn paintings was shown there in 2010.

The National Museum Wales recently acquired her painting Mother and Child for the National Collection.

Despite her years of experience and success, Claudia still attends life drawing classes whenever she can as she believes in practising her technique as much as possible.

"Art started as a habit when I was young and I always painted whenever I could. Now, whenever I stop, things start to feel strange.

"Even now I love to have the rhythm of working, of going into the studio in the morning even if I don’t have any new ideas the smell of the oil paint and the sight of the paper always inspires me."

Claudia's paintings and drawings are striking in that they often feature an assortment of children, grandchildren and families in various chaotic and candid situations and gatherings.

A noticeable proportion of them focus on trips to the seaside, a place where Claudia feels free to observe humanity and those precious moments of interaction she captures so aptly.

Detail of La Coiffeuse et moi. Image copyright: Claudia Williams/Martin Tinney Gallery

Out of the collection of paintings on show in Cardiff, Claudia said she is most fond of By the Pool and La Coiffeuse et moi. The latter shows her reflection in the mirror as she is pointing to a photograph of a woman in a magazine held in her lap and reminds her fondly of her time spent living in France.

She said: "It's very complicated and one of my larger pieces.

"People always ask me how long it takes to complete a painting and I have to say a lifetime, because it takes a lifetime of experiences. I think this painting really captures that."

Gwilym celebrated his 82nd birthday earlier this year, and Robert Meyrick and Harry Hauser have also written a new book, Gwilym Prichard: A Lifetime's Grazing, about his work.

Claudia says neither have any plans to stop painting while they are still able and enjoying it.

Her next project is developing some drawings she made when enjoying a celebratory birthday lunch punting on the River Cherwell in Oxford.

"I spotted some really interesting composition while I was there and I am really keen to get into the studio and work on it."

Claudia Williams: An Intimate Acquaintance runs at the Martin Tinney Gallery until 19 October 2013.

Sally Moore: You Never Can Tell

2013-06-07T13:22:42+00:00

The level of detail in Sally Moore's work is such that each fresh look at her paintings reveals hidden delights and nuances not seen at first.

The Barry-born artist's love of capturing mini psychological dramas on canvas and her meticulous style has won her much critical acclaim - winning her awards at the National Eisteddfod, and at the 1996 Discerning Eye Exhibition in London, where William Packer awarded her the critic's prize. In 2005 she also won the Welsh Artist of the Year award.

And from next week 16 new paintings by Sally will be on show at the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff.

Beneath Suspicion by Sally Moore

Sally told me that several of the pieces mark a slight departure for her, moving away from explorations of her own state of mind, to intense and often unsettling observations of human behaviour.

"I'm fascinated by the way we behave and several of the paintings do try to capture a troubled state of mind," she said.

"In this collection two pieces, Beneath Suspicion and Home Histrionics, explore the behaviour of those characters we all meet in life who love drama for drama's sake and thrive on it. They are captured from the observer's perspective to underline the ridiculousness of the situation.

"They are loosely based on a friend of mine who enjoys complex relationships with men and follows a specific pattern of destructive behaviour.

"She gets herself in these ludicrous situations and seems to relish the drama it creates, when it's all driven by fake emotion."

I asked if the friend might be annoyed to see herself portrayed thus and Sally answered: "I don't know, possibly. I don't know whether she will see them!"

Home Histrionics by Sally Moore

In most of her paintings, the observer is usually present and pictured but in Beneath Suspicion Sally removes that character from the painting, instead transferring that role to the viewer, so both women captured look out seductively.

"I think it will provoke a different response in men and women. This is a new route for me as most of my previous work has been based on my own feelings, feelings of desire, isolation and longing and how I relate to others."

Sally lost her 87-year-old mother two years ago, just as she was beginning this latest body of work, and says that sense of grief and loss is very much present in the paintings.

"Each painting attempts to capture an intense moment. These moments can be pleasurable but sometimes they can be confusing and distressing. Their memories stay with me both in reality and in my dreams."

Because of the painstaking level of detail in her paintings, Sally can work on several pieces at once over many months, returning to each in turn to add more content or means of expression.

Another painting, Laced, explores issues of trust and uncertainty in human relationships, where telling sideways glances reveal intentions might not perhaps be as honest as they first seem.

Laced by Sally Moore

Much of Sally's work in the past has included a lively cast of animals, popping up in even the most humdrum of domestic situations. While there are no tigers in this collection, dogs and butterflies do star.

She said: "I am drawn to animals because they often help to accentuate human emotions or convey innocent onlookers."

Sally trained at the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford, and subsequently won a scholarship to study at the British School in Rome.

She was influenced by many of the greats of the early medieval Renaissance and was impressed by artists like Fra Angelico, Vermeer and Caravaggio.

In fact, one image in the collection revisits Vermeer's famous Girl With a Pearl Earring and attempts to put her own unique stamp on it.

Work from the You Never Can Tell collection is currently on show at St David's Cathedral in Cardiff but moves to the Martin Tinney Gallery from 13 June to 4 July. For more details visit the website.

Art historian Peter Lord on new picture-led autobiography

2013-05-31T14:26:52+00:00

For most people, penning your memoirs is a chance to look back at all the seminal moments in your life, the events and relationships that have shaped you and made you who you are.

But for art historian Peter Lord, pictures and the stories behind them hold far more fascination than a linear recollection of his own life and times.

His new book, Relationships With Pictures, is published by Parthian and was launched at the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea and at an event in Aberystwyth last week.

Relationships With Pictures by Peter Lord

It describes, via 15 pictures, the evolution of his own sense of self; from post-war childhood, somewhat unfulfilling experiences at art college in the 1960s, through the tension between incomers and local people in Wales in the 1970s and '80s when he was beating a retreat from urban life to rural Ceredigion, to his fascinating exploration of the influence each painting has had in the lives of the artists who created them.

It hopes to explain why pictures matter, in terms of the networks of human relationships within which they are made, and through which they affect our lives.

Artists who feature include Kyffin Williams, Peter's own self-portrait, as well as many he has recovered during his own career, such as key works by Maurice Sochachewsky, Edward Owen of Penrhos and Archie Griffiths.

Archie Griffiths, On The Coal Tips, c.1929-31

Peter, who currently holds posts researching and lecturing on visual culture at Swansea University, told me: "At my age one starts to look back as much as one looks forward and you try to make sense of where you have been.

"Unlike normal autobiographies, I didn't want this to be about the machinations of every relationship I had ever had with other people. I wanted to reflect but I chose to do this through my relationship with these pictures and their own relationships with their creators.

"Although the book does reveal what I think and feel about lots of things, it also reveals interesting facts about the paintings, ie the relationship between the artist and a landscape or the artist and the sitter if it's a portrait, as well as the artists and the art world.

"One of the things I have always been concerned about is how visual art is presented throughout art history and I think it's been presented in the wrong way – I look more at the stories behind the pictures and their human narratives rather than aesthetics or particular art movements."

The first six chapters of the book are concerned with Peter's childhood and feature photographs of his great grandmother and a picture of a British army column in Mesopotamia, which explores his relationship with his father.

There is also a self-portrait which forms the cover of the book that he created during his time studying art at university in Reading in the 1960s.

Peter feels it represents his own frustrations with the standard of teaching on the course and the way in which he felt the swinging 60s largely passed him by.

A chunk of the book is dedicated to the years when he first came to Wales in 1974 and spent some time living in rural Ceredigion on Mynnrd Bach.

He said: "I thought I was dropping out, retreating from the urban lifestyle and turning to the land. Looking back I was probably dropping in instead.

"It was an extraordinary time, being there as a non-Welsh speaker and learning gradually to speak Welsh, engaging with a community that was quite defensive.

"It was a new start for me and a personal escape."

After six years he moved to his current home at Cwm Rheidol, near Aberystwyth, where he has lived for 30 years.

Writing about the meaning of pictures in their social and political context, he was centrally involved in the establishment of the field in Wales in the 1980s, challenging the widely-held view that Wales as a nation possessed no visual culture.

He has a keen interest in artisan paintings and also painters who have been marginalised or did not enjoy long periods of success for various reasons.

"Some of the painters have had early success and then faded out and it's those images that seem much more real to me than those by more well-known artists. I relate to their humanity and the struggles they faced."

Many of the paintings included in the book are works that Peter himself has recovered as part of his research, including a self portrait by Edward Owen of Anglesey from 1732, which is one of only three surviving paintings.

Edward Owen of Penrhos, Self portrait, 1732

Peter discovered it in Massachusetts after it had been lost for over 80 years. It is thought to be the earliest self portrait of a Welsh painter and was painted while Owen was an apprentice painter in London in 1732. It was last seen in public at the Holyhead National Eisteddfod in 1927.

He said: "These stories of discovery and recovery and revealing these people who are so fascinating - when I write about them I reveal a lot about myself too."

Peter is speaking at the Hay Festival on Saturday about the life and work of Brenda Chamberlain along with her biographer Jill Piercy and poet Damian Walford Davies, who has just edited her play The Protagonists, set on Hydra during the time of the Colonels.

He will also be talking about his new book at the Plas Glyn-y-Weddw gallery in Pwllheli gallery on Sunday.

Shani Rhys James on her 60th birthday and two new exhibitions

2013-05-17T13:26:14+00:00

Her bold and chaotic paintings have made her one of the most remarkable and successful artists of her generation, and as the eminent Welsh painter Shani Rhys James turns 60, she admits there is no sign of her slowing down.

Shani celebrated the landmark birthday on 2 May with a party at the official opening of her new show in London, the Rivalry of Flowers, which comes to Aberystwyth Arts Centre in November.

Shani Rhys James at the Kings Place Gallery in London

Meanwhile at the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff, an exhibition of 30 of her new paintings has just opened and will run until June.

Speaking from her home of 30 years at Llangadfan, near Welshpool, Shani told me that she feels her vast body of expressionist oil works has not yet scratched the surface of all the things that spark her interest.

So in 2016, after she has fulfilled all her work commitments until then, she and her sculptor husband Stephen West will be touring her native Australia in a combi van, so she can reconnect with the landscapes of her birthplace.

She recalls: "I moved to the UK when I was nine and while I love the Welsh landscape and it has been my home and meditative backdrop for 30 years, the hiraeth of Wales is not my hiraeth.

"There's so much I still want to do with my art, and as I haven't yet explored a personal landscape I really do feel a desire to go back to my roots and find a connection."

Green Chrysanthemum. Image © Shani Rhys James/courtesy of Martin Tinney Gallery

Shani spent her early years living in a modest former gold miner’s house in the Australian bush with her actress mother and stepfather.

But in 1962, she and her mother, who wanted to break into the London theatre scene, moved to the UK with just two suitcases in what was to be the worst winter for many years – the infamous Big Freeze.

Having never seen snow or felt so bitterly cold before, and watching as she and her mother were turned away without explanation from the accommodation that they had previously arranged, the tough welcome they had to the country and the six months they endured living in a bedsit left a lasting impression on Shani.

It is this overwhelming sense of hostility and rejection as she and her mother sought to make a home for themselves that Shani recalls with several of the paintings – entitled Bedsit I, Bedsit II and Bedsit III - featured in the Martin Tinney exhibition, where lurid floral wallpaper is a recurring feature.

She recalls: "I remember vividly this dreadful black and red flock wallpaper in the bedsit which was such an alien thing after living in my plain white walled house in the Oz bush.

"It was meant to be luxurious but it was so grimy and overpowering.

"Maybe I am so fascinated with it as I get older as I am reconnecting with London and that whole transition we had to make.

"We were only meant to come for a year but we sold our return tickets and travelled around Europe. When we finally found a nicer place to live, I cut myself off from the experience."

The pieces she has included in Rivalry of Flowers also feature bold floral backdrops which act as a metaphor for how women are often perceived by society.

Shani Rhys James' Yellow Wallpaper I. Image © the artist/courtesy of Martin Tinney Gallery

Shani says: "The work in this exhibition explores how there is something dark and wild and crazy about flowers, yet in wallpaper designs they are controlled in a pattern and prettified.

"In our culture women are also prettified – she is part of the floral background, part of the furniture in a way. She has become just another decorative interior thing.

"There are also lots of paintings of flowers in vases, something I have all over my house because I love wild flowers. I think they symbolise a sense of women's sensuality, the way they wilt and drip.

"I also see them as a useful metaphor as they can be arranged into designs, just as the flowers in the wallpaper are designed and controlled and much like women style themselves with high heels and, in the past, corsets.

"It's symbolic of the way we impose an aesthetic on things, including ourselves - we are at times part of the wallpaper but we also view ourselves as part of the interior with a loaded necessity to look right at all times."

Ornate furnishings such as chandeliers and claw feet baths also feature heavily as Shani explores her own obsession with collecting objects, which she relates to the sense of rootlessness she felt on arriving in the UK.

Shani Rhys James stands next to her work Shower Cap

She said: "I have always collected things, my mother is the same, and I put it down to coming here with so little. The paintings capture the idea of a woman obsessed with the interior of the house - kitchens that have to be immaculate and wallpaper that is over-florid.

"The world of interiors is also reflected by prestigious chandeliers which dangle rather menacingly above the woman when she is in the bath. There is also a sense that the flowers in vases clash with the flowers in the wallpapers.

"The Rivalry of Flowers also reflects a sort of rivalry between artists and the rivalry you experience in everything as a woman, rivalry between the flowers and the wallpaper, rivalry between an actress mother and her artist daughter."

Shani's next project, which will also be shown at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre at a later date, will feature an interior three dimensional space, with wallpaper all over the ceiling and the walls. She has asked seven poets, including National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke, Menna Elfyn and Jasmine Donahaye, to write poems in response to the piece. As they recite their verse, their mouths will be filmed speaking, to also feature as part of the exhibit.

Shani Rhys James has won many prestigious awards for painting, including the 2003 Jerwood Painting Prize, the Gold medal at the 1992 National Eisteddfod and was awarded an MBE for services to Welsh art in 2006.

Her new paintings on a large scale will be shown at Kings Place Gallery, London until 14 June 2013, before touring to University Gallery, Northumbria University from 12 July – 23 August and Aberystwyth Arts Centre from 6 November 2013 to 11 January 2014.

The exhibition at the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff runs until 8 June 2013.

The exhibitions are accompanied by a new hard-back book, also called The Rivalry of Flowers. For more information visit artwales.com/gallery-mtg-en.php.

Frank Brangwyn, artist extraordinary

2013-05-12T06:30:44+00:00

Many people in Wales have visited Brangwyn Hall in Swansea. They may even have seen the Empire Panels that are now housed there. But how many know anything at all about the man who created such magnificent works of art, and after whom the hall is named?

Panels at the rear of Bangwyn Hall Â© Copyright Nigel Jones

Frank Brangwyn was born at Bruges on 12 May 1867. He was the son of Anglo-Welsh parents; his father, William Curtis Brangwyn, was a specialist in ecclesiastical architecture and textile designs. William won a commission to adapt and design a church in the Belgian city and duly moved there with his family.

When Frank was born he was registered as Guillaume François, as you might expect in a French speaking part of the world. However, to the family and the world he was always Frank.

The Brangwyn family returned to Britain in 1874, taking up residence in London. Frank received no formal training as an artist, being almost entirely self taught. His father undoubtedly advised him and he did work - or study - for a while with Arthur Mackmurdo in the workshops of the famous William Morris. But there was no formal college training.

His breakthrough came at an early age. When he was just 17, Brangwyn had a painting accepted by the Royal Academy for their summer exhibition and overnight his career was launched. He loved light, bright colours and his travels in southern Europe and to the near east only confirmed his enjoyment of light and shade.

Being notoriously short of money, Brangwyn worked as a deck hand at sea in order to fund one particular trip, in 1888, to Turkey. It was a journey full of enjoyment and sensual delight and he went on to paint, among other countries, places as varied as Egypt, Morocco and Spain. He particularly enjoyed painting the sea, where the light seemed especially vivid.

One of his early successes, winning the 1891 Paris Salon, was Funeral At Sea, although the finished work was rather drab and grey - certainly not full of the brightness and vitality with which he is usually associated. As a work of art, however, it is stunningly realistic and certainly captures the solemnity of the occasion.

During World War One Brangwyn produced over 80 poster designs, aimed at recruitment and helping the war effort. The most famous of these was the depiction of a British soldier bayoneting a German during a trench raid.

So realistic and horrifying was this picture that it caused a great deal of offence, both in Germany and Britain. It was even rumoured that the Kaiser had put a price on Brangwyn's head - something that was eminently possible as he had already done this with the Dutch artist Louis Raemaekers for his depictions of German barbarity in Belgium earlier in the war.

Brangwyn's war work - he spent some time as an official War Artist - was brutally realistic. He produced, amongst other pieces, a poster to help in a fund raising event for Welsh troops and, one of his finest creations, Tank In Action.

Between 1925 and 1932 Brangwyn was commissioned to produce a series of panels for the Royal Gallery in the House of Lords. However, the end product - covering over 3,000 square feet of wall space - was considered to be too colourful for such a sombre setting and the paintings were rejected. They were donated instead to Swansea Guildhall and now hang in Brangwyn Hall in the south Wales city.

Brangwyn Hall, 1949

In his career Frank Brangwyn produced an enormous amount of work. It ranged from paintings, ceramics to drawings and etchings. He made stained glass windows and illustrated books. He also drew for illustrated magazines such as The Graphic.

In the years before the outbreak of World War Two he designed the interiors for the luxury liner Empress of Britain. His work on this magnificent vessel now lies at the bottom of the ocean as the ship was torpedoed and sunk during the war.

In 1936 this prolific and exceptional artist presented over 400 pieces of his work to Bruges, the city of his birth. It was a generous gesture but, of course, there was limited viewing of the work due to the outbreak of war in 1939.

In a career that spanned 70 years, Brangwyn was hugely successful but never really part of the establishment. Critics simply did not know how to label him, did not know quite where he could be pigeon holed. At a time when artists like Burne-Jones, Sargent and Whistler were still popular, Brangwyn simply did not fit in.

He died at his home in Ditchling, Sussex, in 1956. His wife, Lucy Ray, had died in 1924. They had no children.

For a man who had achieved success at an early age, official recognition came rather late in life. It was not until 1941 that Brangwyn received a knighthood and for a true renaissance artist - he was, amongst other things, a painter, engraver and designer - it was a tribute that was well deserved. Take a trip to Swansea's Brangwyn Hall and see for yourself.

Artist James Dickson Innes: forgotten talent

2012-12-06T16:21:28+00:00

These days the young Welsh painter James Dickson Innes is something of a forgotten talent. Yet in the early 20th century he was regarded as one of the most promising and gifted artists of his generation.

Arenig Fawr, North Wales by James Dickson Innes (photo: The Fitzwilliam Museum)

Arenig, North Wales by James Dickson Innes (photo:Tate)

As a water colourist and painter in oils he specialised in landscapes but also produced the occasional portrait. Whatever he painted, in the first decade of the new century Innes was feted and lauded as the coming thing in art.

Born in Llanelli on 27 February 1887, his father John was a Scottish historian with interests in the local copper works. His mother was of Spanish extraction and James, along with his brothers Alfred and Jack, was raised in a literary and artistic household.

Innes was sent to study as a border to Christ's College, Brecon. Then, in 1904, with his talent as an artist already being recognised, he moved on to Carmarthen School of Art in order to develop his skills and abilities.

In 1905 Innes won a scholarship to study at the Slade in London. He remained at this radical and influential school of art until 1908, developing his skills and enjoying the life of a bohemian student. After that it was a question of establishing himself and making his reputation as a painter. This he managed quite successfully. He exhibited with the New English Art Club and in 1911 became a member of the Camden Town Group.

That same year Innes became friendly with Augustus John, the enfant terrible of British art and fellow Welshman. It was John who introduced him to the mountains of Gwynedd which Innes had never seen – his experience of his native Wales was based in and around the southern parts of the country. Mostly, however, Innes lived and worked in Europe, in France, Spain and Morocco, where he had been advised to live after it was discovered that he was suffering from TB.

He spent much of his time at Collioure where he came under the influence of the Fauve group, developing a style where expression would be shown through pictorial language. His paintings took on an immediacy of their own and with their sharp, clear lines and beautiful use of colour, Innes, increasingly, began to attract the attention of the art world.

Winifred Coombes Tennant became an important patron of his work and in 1913, along with Augustus John, Innes showed paintings at the influential Amory Exhibition in New York.

Sadly, Innes did not live long enough to enjoy his new-found fame and success. On 22 August 1914, soon after the world had gone to war, he died at a nursing home in Swanley, Kent.

It is interesting to speculate what Innes might have achieved had he been given a little longer to practice and develop. His sense of colour and the immediacy of his lines would have been ideal for working as a war artist, along with people like Paul Nash and William Orpen. The immediacy of the Western Front would have given him ample time and opportunity to express himself.

It was not to be and we are left simply with a latent and unrealised talent – along with a sense of what might have been.

Thanks to The Fitzwilliam Museum and Tate for the use of the images of Innes' paintings.

To view images of James Dickson Innes' paintings go to the gallery on the BBC's Your Paintings website. Your Paintings holds more than 170,000 images which can be searched by place, style and artist.

Stereophonics lose another drummer

2012-07-20T09:07:02+00:00

Stereophonics have parted company with their drummer Javier Weyler, a short statement posted yesterday on the group's official website confirms.

Stereophonics with Javier Weyler (right)

Hi folks. We wanted to let you know Javier and the band will no longer be working together.

The band enjoyed playing with Javier over the last eight years and his company was enjoyed by everyone in the Stereophonics family.

We wish Javier every success going forward in his new creative endeavours and personal life. (Filling in temporarily for Javier on these next shows will be our friend Sam). We look forward to seeing you at the shows.

The Argentinian drummer took up the position following the departure in 2004 of Stuart Cable.

Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

The Rolling Stones in Wales: were you there?

2012-07-12T08:47:41+00:00

As rock fans celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Rolling Stones playing their first live concert, we want your memories of the veteran band playing in Wales.

The Rolling Stones

They first played at the Royal Lido Ballroom in Prestatyn, on 31 August 1963, with subsequent performances at Kings Hall in Aberystwyth, Capitol Theatre in Cardiff, Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Cardiff Arms Park and the Millennium Stadium.

Were you there? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

Lostprophets live at Radio 1 Hackney Weekend

2012-06-25T13:20:15+00:00

Lostprophets, the sole Welsh participants in this weekend's Radio 1 Big Weekend in Hackney, played their usual energetic, anthemic set on Saturday night.

Lostprophets

The sixpiece, touring their fifth album Weapons, played Can't Catch Tomorrow (Good Shoes Won't Save You This Time), Bring 'Em Down, A Town Called Hypocrisy, Sweet Child Of Mine, Where We Belong, Last Summer, Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast), Last Train Home, Earthquake (featuring Labrinth) and We Bring An Arsenal.

Watch their performance of We Bring An Arsenal:

And catch the full set here:

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

Introducing A Girl Called Ruth

2012-06-21T13:00:00+00:00

A few months ago a brand new Welsh singer - A Girl Called Ruth - started following BBC Wales Music on Twitter. I try to listen to the music made by our followers, especially if I've not yet heard of them.

Very occasionally, the music I encounter on those listens make me sit up and pay attention - sometimes it's passion, sometimes it's virtuoso musicianship and sometimes it's a sense that someone really, really should be putting this stuff out.

A Called Called Ruth. Photo: Shaun James Cox

A Girl Called Ruth was one such artist: listening to her Soundcloud tracks I was struck by the clarity of her production, the big melodic hooks and a kind-of Suzanne Vega-meets-Edie Brickell-meets-post-Gaga-pop sensibility.

As such, she's a far more straight-down-the-line pop proposition even than Marina And The Diamonds or Florence And The Machine.

It came as no surprise to learn, therefore, that Ruth's journey from her native Conwy to London came alongside a deal with a decent management set-up. She's looked after by Diane Wagg of Deluxxe Management and Jake McNeill of Kutt Management, who together also look after Scouting For Girls.

A Girl Called Ruth. Photo: Andy Willsher

Wagg's background includes management of the likes of Republica, Beth Orton and Mike Scott (The Waterboys), while she has another Welsh connection: she worked as director of record producer Tony Visconti's group of companies, and of course he was once Mr Mary Hopkin.

Ruth says of her first contact with McNeill: "He emailed me one morning telling me all about himself and his background and how himself and his business partner Diane were were looking for a new artist to manage and came across me on Star Now (a profile I set up to feel like I was trying to pursue my dream while doing an office job).

A Girl Called Ruth. Photo: Andy Willsher

"So we exchanged information and spoke on the phone that evening. Instantly I felt like someone really understood my passion for my music and what I'm about. He just instantly got me! He was so passionate and didn't want to change anything about my music or me which I loved.

"He understood that I had no idea about the industry and that I kept my talent hidden away as I lacked confidence. But that didn't make him doubt me at all. Once I got off the phone I knew this was the start of something massive."

It'll be interesting to see if, with this kind of representation, A Girl Called Ruth can follow in the footsteps of other recent solo singer-songwriters onto the airwaves and mp3 players of the nation. She certainly has more commercial potential than any new Welsh singer I've heard since the aforementioned Marina.

Here's the video for her forthcoming début single, You I See, out on 6 August:

This external content is available at its source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF9RGPXfpkE

"I'm currently booking and performing shows around London which is awesome fun," says Ruth. "As well as that I'm working the open mic circuit in London. It's great for confidence-building and improving your performance, which I needed as when I was starting out I spent most of my performance staring at the ground. You can check out my Twitter, Facebook or website for all information about upcoming shows and open mics I'll be doing. Come along and say hi!

"My album is due to be released next spring, following another two single releases. I can't believe it I'm finally releasing my single. If you told me a year ago that I'd be living in London, making a music video and releasing a single I'd have said 'pull the other one, now help me take this food to table nine'. I just thought it would always remain a dream. I can't believe that dream is actually coming true!"

In related news, an old friend of mine, Michael Shankleman - aka producer Young Favourite - has applied his beats magic to You I See. I asked him about A Girl Called Ruth.

"I get a kick from hearing a new artist before anyone else and I predict that very soon a hell of a lot more people are going to get a kick from A Girl Called Ruth," he said. "I don't think she knows quite how good she is, which is one of the best things you can say about a new artist.

"Pop music can be incredible. If you can write a song that connects with 10 million people then in my eyes you're a genius and I want to know your darkest pop secrets."

Mike, who's remixed for artists such as Rizzle Kicks, Don Broco, Pete Lawrie and Young Guns, explained: "The remix offers have started to come in, but I've been trying to concentrate on making my own little tunes. That was until I heard A Girl Called Ruth's music.

"I then made it my mission to get in touch with her and harangue her until she sent me the parts for her single. I don't think I did too much to the song in the end but it was a total pleasure to work on.

"Hopefully I'll have some of my own tunes out by the end of the summer, but knowing me that could quite easily turn into next summer. As they say, watch this space."

Listen to the Young Favourite remix here:

This external content is available at its source: http://soundcloud.com/agirlcalledruth/you-i-see-young-favourite-remix

What do you think of A Girl Called Ruth? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

Charlotte Church on Radio Wales

2012-05-29T06:50:03+00:00

Last weekend Charlotte Church joined Bethan Elfyn for an extensive interview.

Following up her 2010 album, Back To Scratch, Church exclusively chatted to Bethan about her as-yet untitled new set, working with local musicians and her attitude to the music industry.

In addition, three brand new tracks had their exclusive first plays.

Listen to the interview here:

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

Olympics concert: Why Stereophonics are perfect to represent Wales

2012-05-01T07:01:03+00:00

This morning's news that Stereophonics are to represent Wales at the Olympic concert in Hyde Park (27 July) initially brought a groan from me; but on reflection I've come to the conclusion that actually, they're perfect for it.

Coinciding with the opening ceremony of the games, this concert has representation from all countries of the UK, with Duran Duran for England, Paolo Nutini for Scotland and Snow Patrol for Northern Ireland.

With the eyes of the world on London for the games, all the attendant cultural events should fit with the idea of success and easy recognition - and it's no good putting leftfield oddness forward. The Olympics are inherently conservative; it's an establishment event and as so often the case, when establishment events attempt a more 'with it' stance, down with the kids, as it were, it merely becomes awkward and anachronistic.

Stereophonics, now a veteran act, have dozens of hit singles. Their albums sold by the million across the world (especially in Asia and Australasia) and they're a recognisable, solid name. Their songs can be sung along to. Their musical oeuvre may not be a genre-bending, perception-warping revolution, but it's effective.

The Cwmaman band have been Wales' biggest selling rock band of the past 15 years, lest we forget.

Call them 'dad rock', but look at the other acts announced for this concert. I thank god that 'Let's get a Welsh act on' didn't result in the default booking for Tom, Shirl or Shaky. Instead, we get a band who were once semi-cool, and not in a kitsch way. Their early singles had a verve and vigour to them.

And in comparison with the rest of the acts? I think we do all right here. Duran Duran is an odd choice; fantastic singles band, but over 20 years ago. Snow Patrol? Boring. Paolo Nutini? Enough said.

There's often an impulse, among those who know their music, to bemoan a lack of invention on the part of those who run establishment events - 'they could have booked so-and-so, they're much better' - but this time they've got it right. They've booked a band who aren't the wrong side of 50, who can bash out hit after hit, look good on telly and can provide a damned good time to thousands of gig-goers.

For the record, my alternative bill would be: Therapy? (Northern Ireland), Jesus And Mary Chain (Scotland), Manic Street Preachers (Wales) and Pink Floyd (England).

Who would be on your bill? And do you think the organisers got it right? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

The tragic life of Pete Ham and Badfinger

2012-04-26T08:00:56+00:00

It's one of the best-known pop songs of the 20th century; a million-selling anthem; a classic, but Without You, written by Swansea's Badfinger and covered by Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey among many others, has a dark story behind it.

Badfinger

The song was penned by the Welsh duo of Pete Ham (born on 27 April 1947) and Tom Evans of Badfinger. Despite being behind one of the most successful songs of the 20th century (Without You has been covered almost 200 times), they attracted tragedy arguably more than triumph.

Swansea's Ham, Ron Griffiths, Roy Anderson and David 'Dai' Jenkins formed The Panthers in the early 1960s. Anderson was replaced on drums by Mike Gibbins in March 1965, the year after they changed their name to The Iveys.

The Beatles' assistant Mal Evans saw The Iveys perform at the Marquee Club in London in January 25, and pushed for them to be signed to Apple Records. They were the first non-Beatles to be signed to the label. The Iveys' first single, Maybe Tomorrow, was issued in November 1968; it was not a success in the UK or US, though it fared better elsewhere.

A follow-up single, Dear Angie, was released in Europe and Japan in July 1969, and The Iveys' only album, Maybe Tomorrow, was issued in Italy, West Germany and Japan. It was blocked elsewhere by The Beatles' business manager Allen Klein, who was in the midst of an audit of the company's chaotic finances.

Paul McCartney offered them the song Come And Get It, which was written about Apple's early willingness to give money away to all comers. The Iveys recorded it in August 1969, with McCartney producing.

Prior to the song's release as a single, The Iveys changed their name yet again, becoming Badfinger. Around the same time, bassist Roy Griffiths left; Liverpudlian guitarist Joey Molland was drafted in, and Tom Evans switched to bass.

The name Badfinger was chosen after Bad Finger Boogie, the working title of The Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends. Rejected names included The Glass Onion and (John Lennon's suggestion) The Prix.

Come And Get It was a hit single, and featured in the soundtrack for the film The Magic Christian. Badfinger's first album, Magic Christian Music, was released in 1970.

Listen to Pete Ham talk about songwriting:

Badfinger's links with The Beatles lasted well into the 70s. George Harrison co-produced their album Straight Up in 1971, the same year that guitarist Joey Molland and Tom Evans played on John Lennon's Imagine. Additionally, Ham, Evans and Molland played key roles in Harrison's All Things Must Pass and Concert For Bangla Desh.

They released the No Dice album - considered by the band to be their best album - in 1971. No Dice contained the song Without You, written by Ham and Evans, which was covered by Harry Nilsson later that year and became an international hit.

In 1973 their manager Stan Polley negotiated a multi-million pound deal with Warner Bros, which soured relations between Apple and Badfinger. The band released a final album on Apple - titled Ass - and their début for Warners, the Badfinger album, in quick succession.

However, the group's finances were in disarray thanks to gross mismanagement, with millions missing from the band's accounts. The members of Badfinger were in personal debt, and relations with Warner Bros had deteriorated to the point where their third album for the label, 1974's Head First, was never released.

Listen to Pete Ham talk about playing Madison Square Gardens for the Concert for Bangla Desh:

In early 1975 Badfinger's contract with Warner Bros was terminated. On 23 April 1975, in despair at the turmoil within and around the band, Pete Ham hanged himself in his Surrey garage. His suicide note was addressed to his girlfriend and her son, and blamed the band's business manager Stan Polley. Ham's daughter was born one month after his death.

Over the next few years, the remaining members of Badfinger tried to control their increasingly complex legal and financial problems. In 1978 Tom Evans and Joey Molland kickstarted the band again, with ex-Yes keyboard player Tony Kaye and former Stealers Wheel drummer Peter Clarke, though without Mike Gibbins. In 1979 they released the album Airwaves, which was followed by a second album, Say No More, in 1981.

But tragedy was to hit the band again. Evans and Molland split with acrimony in 1981, and for two years operated rival bands, both called Badfinger. On 19 November 1983, following an argument with Molland and as the result of years of unhappiness with the band's business dealings, Tom Evans hanged himself.

In 1986 Molland and Gibbins reformed the band for tours, until the latter left in 1990. Joey Molland's Badfinger continues to tour.

A number of live and radio recordings by Badfinger have surfaced in recent years, in response to the still-high demand for the music of one of Wales' most popular and sorely-missed groups.

In October 2005 Badfinger drummer Mike Gibbins died at his Florida home at the age of 56. A statement on his website read: " To all of Mike's fans, it is with deepest regret to inform all that he passed away October 4th, in his sleep by natural causes. He will be terribly missed by all."

Do you have memories of Pete Ham and Badfinger? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.

Ricky Valance: the first Welshman at Number One

2012-04-23T07:22:11+00:00

A new series, They Sold A Million, starts tomorrow on BBC One Wales (10.35pm), examining the careers of some of the Welsh people whose charisma, talent and sheer chutzpah led to them selling records by the bucketload. First up it's one of the all-time classic 'one hit wonders': Ricky Valance.

Rick Valance performing in 2011

Born David Spencer in 1940 in Ynysddu, in the Sirhowy Valley in south Wales, he was the eldest of seven children. Times were tough, and upon leaving school he tried various jobs before joining the RAF aged 17.

After being discharged, he decided to pursue a career in singing. He signed to EMI and recorded his cover of Ray Peterson's US hit Tell Laura I Love Her. In September 1960 it hit the top of the hit parade, driven by Radio Luxembourg support. The BBC were less supportive, apparently banning it.

Listen to Valance talking about the song and its 'banning' on the BBC Wales programme The Dragon's Breath:

It was a controversial release at the time, dealing with the death of a loved one. Today the song has been a hit in 14 countries, and has sold over seven million copies. He released several follow-ups, including Movin' Away, Jimmy's Girl and Six Boys, but none of them were significant hits.

Ricky carved out a career singing on the cabaret and nostalgia circuit. Then, following a bout of severe depression and a nervous breakdown he became a born-again Christian.

Today Ricky Valance still performs, singing country songs, rock 'n' roll and ballads. And no, he didn't sing La Bamba. That was Ritchie Valens.

Do you remember Ricky Valance? Feel free to comment! If you want to have your say, on this or any other BBC blog, you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here - it'll allow you to contribute to a range of BBC sites and services using a single login.

Need some assistance? Read about BBC iD, or get some help with registering.