THE  ABERDYFI ARTIST

Dear Member,

Here we are on the first day of Spring and it is snowing hard, what strange weather we get these days. Through the window I can see three pairs of naughty bullfinches trying hard to destroy next autumn’s crop of apples, they show up well against the white background and are such beautiful birds that it is hard to get too annoyed about their destructive bud bashing habits at this time of the year. We have had an interesting  ornithological week or two. A goshawk sat in a tree beyond the pond for over an hour one evening. We thought he was watching us have our tea, but a day or two later, at breakfast, a buzzard appeared and showed great interest in the pond, perching here and there around it and peering intently downwards. Suddenly he dived at the water and we realized he was after frogs. I didn’t see him get one, but he made several attempts before flying off. We realized then that the goshawk was also probably watching frog movements in the water but was perhaps too wary to approach the pond. Robins have been so daring whilst I have been digging that I have had to stop from time to time to let them fully explore the last spadeful. It is a battle between my desire to preserve the few earthworms we have and their wish to eat them. I suppose all this indicates that we have had a harder winter than has been usual in recent years, but at least we have had some glorious days since Christmas. How sad that the dark cloud of foot and mouth hangs menacingly on the horizon. It could conceivably affect our summer programme of painting days, and we shall have to consider each outdoor venue as it is due. My last day out in the hills was in the weekend before it all started, I was on the tops between Aberllefenni and Dinas Mawddwy. There was not a cloud in the sky and the air was crystal clear. I could see from Snowdon in the north right down to Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons and from Bardsey Island to The Wrekin and possibly beyond, a beautiful memory to see me through the walkless weeks since.

Whilst reading a document recently, I came across the delightful name of Byron Grubb. Sadly he is merely the Wales Co-ordinator for the National Association of  Local Councils. I felt sure that with such a name he would at least be an entomologist for I have long held the theory that just as some dog owners grow to look like their pets (or maybe vice versa), so people take jobs appropriate to their names. For instance, the Archbishop of York is David Hope. I used to collect good examples, but cannot find my list, however, I do remember Mr Cutting who was a Divisional Engineer with British Rail, Mr Lilleycrap who was in charge of sewers with Welsh Water, and Mr Brown in the Race Relations Board. Two well known rock climbers are Angela Faller and Chris Craggs. Our local naturalist in the Dulas valley is Jack Grasse. It pays to watch the credits on tv nature programmes which provide a rich vein of the genre, full of producers called Starling or grips (what is a grip in this sense?) named Tree. The trouble is that they flash past so fast that it is difficult to spot and remember them. Reminds me of an old friend who was a comedian and landlord of a local pub in Yorkshire, he rattled off jokes so fast that while you were laughing at the first one you missed the next two. Unfortunately, I have never come across any artistic examples. I browsed through my Dictionary of Art and Artists but could only come up with a few people who were obviously in the wrong job. Samuel Palmer, for instance, should obviously have been a card sharp or magician and JMW Turner  should have been employed on a lathe or at a railway terminus. If anyone has any good examples, I would be pleased to hear of them. It is a day later now and this morning’s Times bears two more good ones – Jim Furlong who is a member of The British Horseracing Board, and Tristram Ricketts it’s Secretary-general. I rest my case! And yet another from The Times, an inhabitant of the Scottish island of Gigha is Seamus McSporran.

I thought that there had been a dearth of art programmes on tv over the winter months, but last week up popped a Sunday evening on BBC2 with an excellent Omnibus about Stanley Spencer, and a review of an exhibition of German art at The National Gallery in London. There are some beautiful paintings in the exhibition, and several by one of my favourite artists, Capsar David Friedrich (1774 –1840) At one point the camera was focussing on a picture by another artist, but at the same time offering a tantalising glimpse of  a Friedrich landscape to its left. Frustratingly, the camera moved on to the right but not before Jean and I managed to have a discussion about that painting, and its title feature, The Solitary Tree. She was unhappy about the central placing of the tree, feeling that it split the picture into two equal halves, I thought that it worked perfectly as the differing size of the hills either side of it countered that feeling. It helps to prove the assertion that no two people view the same thing in the same way for they each bring to bear upon it all the experience of their life hitherto. I think that what attracts me to Friedrich’s work is the majestic stillness of his paintings. Any human intrusion is dwarfed by the mysterious grandeur of nature. It is the same feeling which attracts me to the hills and why I enjoy walking alone on them. Friedrich said that ‘it is not the faithful representation of air, water, rocks and trees which is the task of the artist, but the reflection of his soul and emotions in these objects’. His efforts to express this led him close to abstraction at times, in fact one of his landscapes approached so near to abstraction that when it was first exhibited it was hung upside down by mistake, clouds mistaken for sea and sea for clouds. Apparently Goethe was so outraged by this particular painting that he wanted to destroy it, calling it ‘the great perversity of our present age’. Reading that made me question, very briefly, my own view of much of today’s ‘art’, but I quickly came to the view that if  these contemporary works reflect the soul and emotions of the artists concerned, then I would rather not know about them! A beautiful example of Friedrich’s near abstraction is Monk by the Sea, painted in 1809. I don’t think it is in the exhibition, but do try to find a reproduction of it if you can. It’s permanent home is at Berlin. Seven of  his paintings are included in the seventy seven pictures in the exhibition. It is entitled Spirit of an Age and runs until 13^th May. The age referred to appears to be from early 19^th to very early 20^th century, and the latest works are by the Expressionists Beckmann and Corinth. Every picture we saw on the programme was fascinating. Does anyone fancy participating in an organised trip to London?

TREASURY TOPICS.

And now a word from our sponsor! (Stewart Carmichael actually) – Sorry if I bore you with figures, but I thought it timely that all members (not just those that attend the AGM!) should be aware of how their (hard earned?) pennies are dissipated each year. The Society has three sources of income, viz. membership subscriptions, exhibition sales and the charges for the day painting classes. At £5 per annum (unchanged since 1998) membership subscriptions produce about £400. The income from exhibition sales fluctuates from year to year but we have been fortunate in recent years to build up a reserve from this source. The income from the day painting classes is also variable but is more than offset by the cost of hire of the Yacht Club and fees charged by tutors. Last year, for example, these costs were over £300. The charge for the hire of Neuadd Dyfi for this year’s exhibition (following the sale of the Church Hall, our previous venue for many years) will be an added expense, although our accumulated reserve should suffice to meet this commitment, at least for the time being. The exhibition screens will have to be replaced before very long so this will incur major expense at some future date. Other costs are our insurance, printing and stationery, and sundry expenses. All in all, then, no “stealth taxes” this year, but for the future – well, maybe we will have to do something! Still cheap at the price, don’t you think?  Stewart .

BUFFET SUPPER.

About 30 members and friends braved a fearful night in November to attend the Buffet Supper at the Yacht Club. I have never seen the sea so high in Aberdyfi. Waves were actually breaking over the front door to the Yacht Club and one had to time their sequence and make a dash between them in an attempt to keep dry. While John Hoyle and I were watching the wind speeds on the meter in the Club, it stopped, the wind had blown the sensor off the club roof. Nevertheless, we all enjoyed a convivial evening and by the time we left, thankfully, the tide was ebbing. Near Dyfi Bridge on the way home, I was held up for an hour and a half by a huge fallen oak across the road. There is a short cut through the forest but with trees of such size blowing over I was not going to chance my arm amongst those ranks of sitka spruce.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

By comparison, on a calm and fine evening in late February, only 12 members saw fit to attend the Annual General Meeting at The Institute in Aberdyfi, and a further 10 had the decency to send their apologies. The view could be taken that the remainder think the Society’s affairs are in good hands, so there is no need to change anything, but we on the Committee do feel that no one gives a damn. The AGM is your chance to have your say. I am sure there are mutterings here and there, but unless they are made known to the Committee and considered, if necessary, by the membership, nothing can be done to accommodate them. I heard, for instance, that someone has said that we cannot expect people to turn up if we hold the meeting on a night when they cannot attend. At several recent AGMs we have considered whether to move the meeting to later in the year, but those then present have voted against the idea. No one has suggested to the Committee or Officers in the past year that they cannot attend because the night or date is inconvenient . The date is booked a year in advance and the information is on your membership card. For convenience, I will repeat it here - next year’s AGM is on Wednesday 13^th March at The Institute in Aberdyfi, at 7.30pm.

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE.

As a result of the AGM, the Officers and Committee of the Society remain unchanged with the exception of the resignation from the Committee of Vic Gowers and his replacement by Jean Barratt. I am sorry that Vic has resigned, he was a past Chairman and had been on the Committee for as long as I have been a member of the Society. He has been very active on our behalf during those years, full of interesting ideas, some of which may have been a bit too mischievously heretical for the more conservative members of the Committee, but all of which have merited serious consideration. Many of them have been adopted. His work in repairing the exhibition screens and keeping them in pristine condition is alone worth a TOADIE (The Order of Aberdyfi, Duty In Excelsis). I hope Vic will remain a keen and active member of the Society for many years to come.

The Officers and Committee for the coming year, are, therefore –

President – Kay Morris, Vice-president – Ted Kilner, Chairman – Jack Harbottle, Secretary – Bev Barratt, Treasurer – Stewart Carmichael, Committee – Jean Barratt, Ann Coldham, Peter Coldham, Doreen Greenaway, John Hoyle, and Ted Kilner.

PROGRAMME OF SUMMER DAY CLASSES.

Peter Coldham presented  to the AGM what was sadly to be his last Programme of Day Classes. He feels that having done the job for four years, it would be good for someone else to take over, perhaps with new ideas for tutors and venues. Peter is remaining on the Committee, I am pleased to say, as his contributions are valuable and constructive. It would be remiss of me not to publicly thank him for preparing the programme so well and for so long. It is a job which needs to be done by a painting member of The Society, who is in touch with the needs and wishes of active members. Feedback from members is necessary to ensure that we met your needs, so if any one has suggestions for venues for painting days, or tutors, for next winter or the summer of 2002, please let me know. This was another topic which could have been valuably discussed at the AGM had more persons attended. Is there a member out there who would like to volunteer to undertake the task? The lines are open now! Details of  the summer programme are on the new membership card, but just in case you haven’t paid yet, or would like something in bigger print, I am enclosing details of the full programme on page 6 of this missive.

ANNUAL DINNER.

The Annual Dinner is next week, on Wednesday 28^th March at Plas Talgarth, Pennal, 7.00 for 7.30pm. Bookings are down on previous years, so if you have forgotten all about it, it might just conceivably be possible for you to squeeze in, even at this late date. We have had a good meal at Plas Talgarth in recent years and it is always a convivial event. I look forward to seeing you there.

ANNUAL EXHIBITION.

As you are probably aware, the Annual Exhibition has had to move from The Church Hall, which has been sold. Our venue this year is Neuadd Dyfi. Gathering day for paintings and mounting will be Saturday 21 July, official opening on the evening of Sunday 22 July, and public opening from Monday 23 July to Sunday 5 August. The new venue is much more expensive than the old, but it was agreed at the AGM not to increase any of the charges for entry of paintings to this year’s exhibition. The financial situation will be assessed after the event. Full details and entry forms will be sent to all members in the early summer.

TRIPS TO EXHIBITIONS?

The possibility of organising trips to exhibitions was considered at the AGM and it was agreed that the views of members be sought. Would there be any support for such trips, say to Liverpool, or even our own National Library, where the permanent collection, which is rarely all on display, can be made available for private viewing by an organised group? We envisage a small coach or minibus of members and friends, with plenty of refreshment and toilet stops, but, a sincere personal wish, No Singing on the way home! Please let me know if you are interested. If we get enough bodies to make the hire of a vehicle worthwhile, we can proceed with organising something.

WINTER EVENING SESSIONS?

The Committee is keen to start monthly evening sessions in the Yacht Club during the winter months. The proposal is to hold one a month as an experiment, for the benefit of working members who cannot get to our day classes, and for prospective members who may either work during the day, or feel that they do not have the skills to attend a day class. The success of such a venture will rely on a good turnout of members who are active painters, and their willingness to help new or prospective members to acquire some skills, as the presence of a professional tutor would be neither feasible nor affordable. This information is as far as the proposal has gone at present. Its progression relies on positive response from members. I await your call.

USE OF YACHT CLUB ON PAINTING DAYS.

We have use of the facilities in the Yacht Club on painting days, but sadly, many members toddle off home without even bothering to wash the cups and saucers they have used or return them downstairs. It falls to the last few people there to clear up after the majority. Please think on this.If you are using utensils which are part of the Club’s facilities it is only fair that they should be left as and where they were found.

MEMBERSHIP FEES.

A reminder now about membership fees. If you receive your membership card with this publication, it means that Stewart has received your fee for the coming year. Those paying later will receive their cards in due course. The membership renewal form was at the bottom of your AGM Agenda, a detachable section. Don’t delay, pay today !

RESIDENTIAL ART COURSE /CREATIVE BREAK, GREGYNOG HALL, NEWTOWN, 14 – 16 AUGUST.

The second Art Festival will take place between 14^th and 16^th August and will allow the student to draw and paint on location within the peaceful grounds of Gregynog Hall. The courses available are –

·         Watercolour

·         Charcoal

·         Abstracting the landscape in oils or acrylics

·         Pastels

·         Photographing the past (pinhole photography)

All tuition will be tailored to the individual. Students may chose two options. Course fee £200 includes  three nights’ accomodation, all meals and tuition.For a free colour brochure and more details contact Alison Pierse.

All of which leaves me with a bit of space in which I can renew my pleas for feedback, or even for something to put in the next issue of  The Aberdyfi Artist. Does anyone out there have a favourite painter they would like to mention ? Does anyone disagree with any of my views ? Has anyone got any names to add to the names suiting jobs list ? The next meeting of the Committee is due to take place on Wednesday 16 May. We would like to hear from you by then, please. In the meantime, do have a good Spring and Summer, and let us have lots of entries for this year’s exhibition.

Cheers for now,

Bev Barratt

Gellygen Fach,

Pantperthog,

Macynlleth,

SY20 9AY. 

22 March 2001  

                                              SUMMER PROGRAMME

All classes 10am to 4pm

Tutored classes £3

Untutored classes £1 except those marked * which are free.

All dates are Tuesdays.

3 April             Yacht Club, Aberdyfi

                        Raymond Whitehouse – Snow Scenes.

17 April          Yacht Club, Aberdyfi

                        Untutored

1 May             *Penmaenpool, between Fairbourne and Dolgellau

                        Untutored. Meet in car park by RSPB building.

15 May           Yacht Club, Aberdyfi

                        Neil Jones -  How to compose a picture.

5 June                        Glandyfi Castle, on A487 between Derwenlas and Furnace.

Untutored. By courtesy of Mrs Piper.

19 June         *Castell y Bere.

                        Untutored. Meet in Castle car park.

3 July             *Penhelig Gardens and Roman Road, Aberdyfi.

                        Untutored.

17 July           Braich yr Henllys Farm, Bryncrug.

                        Glyn Davies – Perspective.

7 August        Pennal Church Hall as a base, lots to paint in the area.

                        Untutored.

4 September Dolgoch Falls, meet in car park.

                        Robert May. ( Bit of walking, don’t bring too much gear!)

18 September           Tynllwyn Hen, Rhydyronnen, Bryncrug, courtesy of Mrs Winterton.

                        Untutored. Grid ref 621026.

2 October       Yacht Club, Aberdyfi. Untutored.

Start of winter programme of painting days in Yacht Club on first and third Tuesdays in month.

Last modified: 09/29/05