Tag: Welsh artist

Designer Desire: Hywel Harries

Montage of Hywel Harries paintings

Hywel Harries (1921-1990) was a Welsh fine artist specialising in oil paintings of landscapes and also book & magazine illustrations and cartoons.

Since living in Wales and getting to know our local area, some of his scenes have become very familiar. For example, Machynlleth with its prominent clock tower (shown above), Aberystwyth seafront and Aberaeron harbour.

He tried his had at many artistic styles; I particularly like his 1970s interpretations of Sydney Curnow Vosper’s famous Salem painting (top of the montage above).

Alongside his own practice, he had a long career in art education. He became art master at Machynlleth secondary school in 1950 moving on to becoming head of the art department in Arwyn Grammar School, Aberystwyth in 1954. Following local reorganisation of secondary education, he held the post at Penglais School. He retired from education in 1981.

In 1963, he founded the Ceredigion Art Society. He also served time on the boards of the Royal Cambrian Academy, the Art and Craft Committee of the Council of the National Eisteddfod as well as the North Wales Federation of Art Groups.

© Bangor University | Ceredigion Museum | National Museum Wales | The National Library of Wales

Designer Desire: Lilly Hedley

Montage of Lilly Hedley prints

Lilly Hedley is a printmaker and illustrator who we first discovered on Instagram. She’s based in rural North Wales, a place that inspires much of her work.

Published last year was Our Isles: Poems Celebrating the Art of Rural Trades and Traditions, a book of poems and artwork that she created along with her partner, poet, Angus D. Birditt. She’s been commissioned by clients to create packaging artwork for Shropshire salumi and Formaje cheese shop in Madrid. She also created a beautiful ‘Merlin Bird and Oak Leaves’ lino-print (shown in the montage above) for Merlin Unwin Books.

Not content with being a talented artist, she has a seasonal and sustainable food company and runs a series of supper clubs.

A selection of her work is available from Oriel Davies Contemporary Art Gallery in Newtown, Mid Wales. In addition, you could contact her via her website The gallery is currently showing her and Angus’ work in, Our Isles: An Exhibition Celebrating the Art of Rural Life (currently closed due to lock-down).

She’s scheduled to lead lino-cutting and printmaking workshops at The Good Life Society’s summer camp at the Hawarden Estate in July 2021.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Lilly Hedley (@lillyhedleyprint)

Designer Desire: Muriel Delahaye

Montage of Muriel Delahaye artworks

This summer, we made a couple of day trips out to the seaside visiting Borth and Ynyslas; this week’s highlighted Designer Desire artist lives & works on this part of the Welsh coast.

Originally from Oldham in Greater Manchester, Muriel Delahaye moved to Borth around 50 years ago.
She described herself as a figurative artist.

In the mid 1970s, Delahaye won the MOMA Tabernacle Art Competition the theme that year was “The Sea! The Sea!” The subject of her winning painting was from the 7-part Greek book, Anabasis by Xenophon. It’s one of the paintings she has kept in her own possession. It was after this success that she began to concentrate on figures in a coastal landscape; she can actually see the beach from her studio.

Growing up in Oldham, our trips to the seaside were always a great event. I have always loved the sea, and the landscape around Borth is fantastic. It’s such a change from living in Oldham, which was full of people and had no landscape whatsoever. In an industrial town you don’t stop and say, ‘Oh what a wonderful sunset.’ You’re surrounded by people all the time; people coming from work, going to work, people talking about people. Coming to Wales I’ve found I have the best of both worlds – I’ve got the background of people plus the wonderful landscape to incorporate with it.

A lot of Welsh artists concentrate on landscape without figures but for me the figures are important. I’m interested in figures in the landscape, and how they’re reacting to that landscape or to whatever situation they find themselves in.

I concentrate on the people – they give me my ideas – but the sea often sets the atmosphere. I live opposite the sea and that’s the first thing I see in the morning when I get up and its always different – I love looking at it. Walesonline

Original works can be bought from Oriel Mimosa Gallery in Llandeilo and Oriel Tir A Môr Gallery, Borth. Prints and greeting cards can be bought from Delahaye’s own website.

UPDATE: Muriel passed away peacefully at her home in Borth on Friday 4th December 2020.

All images: Muriel Delahaye©

Additional image credit:
The Wales Weekly

Designer Desire: Sian McGill

Montage of Sian McGill paintings

Born on St.David’s Day 1973 in Pontypool, Sian McGill is a fine artist working primarily in acrylic on board. She paints the most fabulous landscapes; often of Welsh hillsides, coastlines and vernacular architecture.

Her work is full of colour and movement; you can almost smell the DMS of the ocean, feel the mountain breeze on your face and hear the water in the stream flowing past!

She has had work selected for the Royal Cambrian Academy and regularly exhibits at galleries in Wales and Cornwall. You can purchase her work from various galleries & online outlets including Artsper, Attic Gallery, Wychwood Art Gallery and London Contemporary Art.

One day, we’d love to commission Sian to paint a portrait of our little cottage.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Sian McGill (@sianmcgill)

All image credits: Sian McGill©