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CITY ART GALLERY & MUSEUM
- Work by Glyn Griffiths
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| Classes were
small and talent abundant and the place was soaked with a century
of scents; turpentine and linseed oil, tobacco, paint and canvas,
food smells from the students' canteen that two world wars hadn't
been able to close. Drawing was central to almost everything and was
practised constantly, the life models surrounded by batteries of electric
fires in winter. The standard of drawing reached levels of sustained
excellence that have never been surpassed, if ever equalled. Glyn
Griffiths was a tutor in illustration and his students considered
themselves privileged in the college. In the late sixties, he left what had become Birmingham Polytechnic and had moved to Cardiganshire, five miles inland from Aberaeron. There he farmed sheep and grew the first commercial crops of strawberries and raspberries in West Wales. He also designed and illustrated Welsh books and, with typical passion, threw himself into the organisation and publicity for Plaid Cymru. He continued to paint, write verse and prose and was a visiting tutor to Bourneville and Shrewsbury Schools of Art. As with any painting of true quality, Glyn's works hold the viewer's attention; they may be seen again and again and always offer something new, and although they show a consideration of drawing, colour and texture that is sensitive and beautiful, they are much more than the sum of their parts, Glyn's pictures, particularly the landscapes, are about the human spirit and the mysteries of its interaction with the natural world. Glyn was taught at Cardiff School of Art by Ceri Richards, for whom he retained a great affection and respect throughout his life, and he knew many other Welsh painters, writers and musicians. In 1974, after many upheavals, he moved back to the Teme Valley in Worcestershire where he lived under the shadow of Woodbury Hill, a place of immense spiritual and historical significance to him since it was the last outpost of Owain Glyndwr in his epic struggle against Henry IV. Glyn was fascinated by these rolling hills and far reaching views and many of his watercolours date from this period. His final move was to Herefordshire where, despite the onset of insidious and persistent illness he produced a number of drawings and where, when his studio was completed, he occupied his final years with some large still life's and landscapes. Glyn was seventy two when he died in 1999. |
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Work
by Glyn Griffiths
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January Snow |
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Autumn |
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Winter Sun over the Shelsley's |
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Evening Moon over the Shelsleys |
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Snow Garden at Birds Green |
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About Glyn Griffiths |