New exhibition takes you to the water’s edge at the Torch Theatre
At The Water’s Edge, a new exhibition by Brecon-based writer/director and artist Phil Clark will be showcased at the Oriel Joanna Field Gallery within the Torch Theatre throughout March.
The exhibition will comprise a series of Clark’s monoprints, etchings, drypoints and screen prints inspired by the Welsh coastal landscape, something that Clark is incredibly passionate about:
“At The Water’s Edge is a response to the incredibly beautiful landscape of Wales. A landscape that changes in every moment and around every corner and challenges me every moment of my life disturbing my soul with excitement” said Clark.
Born in Powys, Wales, Phil trained for the Theatre and became an Actor, Director, Playwright and Designer. For fifteen years he was Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff. Phil has always worked as a Visual Artist alongside his Theatre work. He primarily works in the medium of gouache but also enjoys watercolours and acrylics. Recently he has been developing his work through printing techniques including drypoint, etching, monoprinting and lithographics.
At The Water’s Edge has given Clark an opportunity to discover new techniques, new places and ultimately a new creative energy within his art, especially painting the costal landscape.
“I don’t know what it is that draws me to water. Perhaps it is to do with living in land-locked Brecon in Mid Wales….which I love! I don’t know what it is that draws me to the edge. I think it’s the danger of the unknown…. the drama…. the excitement and the endless possibilities of invention!” add Clark.
At The Water’s Edge will be exhibited from Tuesday 3 to Thursday 30 March at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, and can be viewed at all times when the theatre and adjoining café is open. Admission to the Oriel Joanna Field Gallery is free. Café Torch and the Joanna Field Gallery are on the lower ground floor of the Torch Theatre and both fully accessible.
AN EXHIBITION OF ARTWORK AT NEVILL HALL HOSPITAL (AUGUST-OCTOBER 2018)
INSPIRED
by the country
(Feature from Wales and Borders Magazine)
Phil was born and raised in Brecon, Powys, and has lived a double life as a theatre director and an artist for many years. He now lives between Brecon and Llangors Lake.
Brecon Beacons from Talgarth
“I was returning over the back road from Hay Literary Festival when I saw this view, stopped the car, and painted it on the spot. I was just parked in a layby looking at the view thinking how beautiful it is. I’m fascinated by foregrounds – how they lead you into a picture to tell the story.”
I work half as a visual artist and half as a theatre driector. I can’t do one without the other – they feed each other. The joy of being a visual artist is you’re not dependent on anyone else, and I can just sit in a field and make my own art. That solitude is something very precious to me. Being brought up in mid-Wales, I’ve realised how important the landscape of Brecon and the borders are to me. I love cities and I go all over the world working, but my heart comes back to Wales and the borders every time – it’s at the heart of me and is a very important part of my life. Wherever I’m working, my art equipment is always in the car with me.
Journey along the River Severn
“This is a monoprint – a one-off, as no two monoprints are ever the same. You don’t know how it will look until the very end, which is fantastic. Your heart is in your mouth. I become like a child in a sweet shop. The picture’s from a journey along the really tidal part of the Severn from Newport to Gloucester. The light on it was just glorious as the sun rose in the morning.”
Summer Walk
“Twelve years ago I broke my ankle and was housebound for six weeks. That’s when I started seriously painting flowers and I became obsessed with it. It allowed me to deal with colour in strong ways, using the medium of acrylic, gouache and watercolour. On this occasion everything I picked from the hedgerows was pink. I love walking along and saying, ‘I’ll do a yellow walk, or a green walk,’ – you look at hedgerows in a different way.”
Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal
“The walks along the canal are just beautiful. Painting canals is like painting a mirror, as opposed to a river, which moves and changes all the time. Autumn around here is just glorious. I find the colours so emotional and breathtaking.”
Towards Llangors Lake from Llangynidr Mountain
“It’s an enormous, breathtaking view from the mountain. As I was driving over I had to stop and paint there and then. This is about the enormity of landscape, and trying to capture that on paper is a real challenge. This is painted with gouache – an opaque watercolour – on black paper. It’s my preferred style because you’re dealing with solid colour that dries immediately. You see colour straight away and if you make a mistake it’s easy to put right.”
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