September Guest Exhibition

Torfaen Arts is a group of 20 members, who live in south east Wales and exhibit throughout the valleys and towns of Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Powys. Conceived almost 20 years ago and given a grant for exhibition equipment they started showing their work in schools, community hubs and leisure centres. However it wasn’t long before they developed their outlook and skills, taking their art to the public as they believe that Art transforms spaces.

‘Through an artist`s eyes’

Denise Jones
Denise was born in Cwmbran but lived for a number of years in West Wales before returning to Cwmbran.
After taking early retirement Denise decided to start painting again. Her interest in nature fired a wish to reproduce the trees, skies and seas she sees around her. Denise is fascinated by the shapes and colours of plants and clouds, which provide her with opportunities to spend many hours of enjoyment and opportunities to express and develop her skills. Her goal is to see her voice and thoughts coming through in the work she produces, many of which are memories of living and holidaying in Wales.

John Howles
John is a photographer and digital designer based in Cwmbran.
John got his first camera in 1977 and his first real computer in 1991. Since then he has used both together in his professional and personal life, having learned to program and to design using both.
He has always been inspired by the sea (in fact water of any kind) and at one point he cycled around the whole of the Welsh coastline for charity, sleeping in a tent and photographing landscapes and seascapes as he went.
John is fascinated by digital design using a blend of photography and other elements. He has managed various projects for companies, churches and local groups.

Ann McMail
There is beauty to be found in many things places, people and nature.”
Ann finds much of her wonder and inspiration in the valley town of Blaenavon, South Wales close to where she lives. She finds that walking through the stunning mountainside provides her with solace and warmth and passion which allow the ideas to flow through her mind onto the page. Ann works in various mediums exploring and developing new ideas until they become unique pieces existing within her mind before transferring them to canvas.

Jennifer Martin
Jennifer is an artist who lives in Torfaen in South Wales.
She had a keen interest in painting from an early age at school. The real turning point in her journey back into Art came through a chance meeting with several local artists who were members a local art group called “Torfaen Arts”. Jen is inspired by seascapes, mountains and people where she uses various mediums including pastels, acrylics and oils to express herself.

Diane Rosser
Diane only took up art as a hobby when she retired, having never really painted before, she was encouraged to “try it out” by an artist friend and neighbour. She joined a local art class in the “Power Station” in Cwmbran and fell in love with it. After experimenting with various different mediums she finally settled on pastels, Chinese inks and acrylics as her favourites. Diane has been an active member of Torfaen Arts for many years; holding various positions within the group and regularly exhibits at various venues throughout the year.

Ray Rosser
Ray credits art with the opportunity to add a new dimension to his life and develop a different approach to life. He uses the natural world of colour, texture and light that he finds around him and combines it with his engineering experience and background that provide him with a sense of perspective, scale, symmetry and proportion which he expresses in his artwork. Whilst Ray has worked in various media such as oils and watercolour, his preferred medium is acrylic which he says, allows him to be more expressive and bolder by using a pallet knife where possible to avoid excess realism which best suites his style of painting. Although Ray has experimented with portraits and abstracts, his favourite subjects are landscapes and seascapes.

Cliff Lyon
Cliff generally uses acrylics on either canvas or paper. He paints various subjects including landscapes, still life and pet portraits.

Joanne Price
Joanne has a great love and interest in the Welsh language and teaching led into learning about the culture and scenery of Wales. This love of the Welsh language and culture has continued throughout her life and is a source of inspiration for many of her paintings. She also draws ideas and inspiration from exploring colour, pattern and shapes using semi-abstract forms to produce vivid paintings.
Joanne works mainly in acrylics but also likes to experiment with other media to create bold colourful pictures incorporating light, atmosphere and space. These separate sources, together with Jo’s willingness to experiment, combine to provide her with a wide-ranging portfolio which includes paintings, drawings, embroidery, fibre art, printmaking, and photography.

Karina Isles
Karina prefers to paint using watercolours,
Karina draws much of her inspiration from illustrations found in books, magazines and the internet.
Her subjects are very diverse, ranging from botanical to quirky animals.

Valerie Stewart
Val’s personal portfolio is wide-ranging and includes drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, needlework and silver-work. Val draws her inspiration from the landscapes and seascapes of Wales where she combines realism and abstractism in the same painting where her love of colour and patterns is clearly visible. Val is also passionate and excited by circus performers and gypsies. Her superb works capture the energies, forms and vivid colours of both these groups from whom she draws much of her inspiration.

Patricia Clifford
Patricia is excited and influenced by music, dance and Welsh folklore. She aims to capture the essence of the music while drawing the viewer in. Often Patricia’s pieces develop by experimentation and knowledge of the mediums she works with. Her love of colour is evident in her work and can be vibrant or tranquil.
Working in oils, acrylics and inks, her works develop through layering subtle marks on the surface that combine to give a textual quality and glazing between each layer.
Patricia is passionate about encouraging creativity and positivity.

Valerie Sinderby
Valerie uses many photos taken from lots of holiday destinations which often lead her to take a journey of rediscovery, and which encourage her to produce a painting.

Jane Jones
Over time Jane has tried various different mediums. However, she continues to be drawn back to acrylics.
Jane lives close to the sea in a beautiful part of Wales and finds inspiration for her works in her surroundings, especially the sea.

 
Steve Reardon
Like many others Steve gains enormous inspiration from the Welsh landscape around him. This together with the people and so many childhood memories, provide him with much of his inspiration and enjoyment. Steve mostly works in acrylics and charcoal.

Jane Rosair
Jane paints many different subjects, but her main love is landscapes, especially those in the beautiful part of Wales in which she lives. These provide much of her inspiration, and together with animals and flowers which also feature in many of her paintings, give her much enjoyment. Jane predominately works in acrylics where she has developed a style that incorporates a mix of exaggerated colours and unexpected hues. She places loose brushstrokes side by side with the intention of producing a loose, vibrant and uplifting painting.

Lorna Savidge
Lorna mainly creates landscapes in acrylics and mixed media. She admits to being by nature a bit of a perfectionist, but ageing eyes, bigger brushes, a more forgiving inner critic together with a willingness to experiment have allowed her to develop a more expressive style which she calls ‘catar-abstr-act’.
For Lorna, painting is all about being dynamic. She often revisits old works and overlays them with new brush strokes and collage, where these changes and alterations then become part of the creative journey for both the work and Lorna herself.

Jill Powell
Jill is a surreal, mixed media artist with a love of surrealism and abstract impressionism in art, esteeming the works of Salvador Dali, Rene Mageitte, Joan Miro, Andre Masson and Max Ernst.