You have until Sat 9th end of this week to hurry down to The Albany Gallery’s Summer Exhibition 2017 to see and possibly buy fabulous works of art including not only paintings and illustrations but also ceramics and jewellery. Here are my top picks of the almost 300 pieces on display:
CERAMICS
Willie Carter: fun and fabulous pottery of jugs, bowls and plates adorned with bees, fish and flowers (among other designs) in Mediterranean colours, including a teapot and a sweetie jar with elephants on top(!) country-ish yet grand
Jane Malvisi: folksy, statuesque figures of African and Welsh ladies
Alison Todd: stripey and other lively patterned jugs and vases
Daniel Wright: hand-thrown Earthenware tableware with hand-drawn transfers of chapels and other buildings on them in black, various shades of blue, white, grey and mustard
LANDSCAPES | OUTDOORS
Too many landscapes of mountains and seascapes can make my eyes glaze over (of course not on show here), but these definitely didn’t:
David Barnes: always wonderful atmospheric oils of countryside and water
Pauline Beynon: alcohol inks on laminate of her surrealistic ‘Little Jewels Of Pembrokeshire’
Mike Carter (selected for the Royal Academy’s summer exhibition): moody works in mixed media in palettes of greys, blues, black and white of Welsh land and seascapes
Karl Davies: always great to see his oils of farmers, small towns and the like in dark hues of purples, blues, yellows and reds with greys and blacks where even when it’s day it’s night
Muriel Delahaye: ‘Full Moon’ in oil
Audrey Johns: ‘Lower Town Fishguard’ same material and vein as Morgan but in bold gold, orange and red
Peter Morgan: acrylic on canvas paintings of candy box-coloured Welsh beachfronts homes
Robert Sawtell: dramatic oils of ocean and rocks off Pembrokeshire
Lara Smith: rich, impressionist views of ‘Big Ben At Dust’ with Westminster Bridge in the rain and ‘Grand Canal, Venice’ in oil
Dionne Stevewright: mixed media works of houses/farms with abstract, geometric areas
PORTRAITS
Angela French: ‘Sheep Study’ silverpoint on gessoed paper
David Griffiths RCA: Oils of Sir Kyffin Williams R.A.
Alys Holly: pencil portraits of Bryn Terfel and Katherine Jenkins
Alun Morgan: farmers done in charcoal
Raymond Powell: ink and pencil drawing of Marilyn Monroe
STILL LIFES
Sarah Carvell: thick oils of breakfast tables in ice-cream and seaside pastel shades
Frank Collict: adore his tranquil and stunning oils of cherries, onions and mushrooms in lovely light and also of vintage-esque roses (which has been sold)
Claire Lovell: Matisse-like oil ‘Spring Flowers, Foxhill’
Jonathan Pointer: ‘Old Bee Smoker’ and ‘Old Lantern’ both in graphite
Paul Sims: mixed media works of electric flowers and also of the zen-like ‘Atlantic Wave’
Penelope Timmis: energetic blurry bursts of green, blue, red and pinks flowers (‘Pot Pourri’)
Also loved her vibrant, red ‘Full Of Tulips’ and wild, strutting rooster, both now sold. All acrylic
Halima Washington-Dixon: two oils of serene flowers in vases
ON THE WHIMSICAL SIDE
Sue (L.S.) Morgan: always love her mixed media and ink and wash pictures of adorable dogs and kids and of the village coastlines
Nick Holly: the Welsh Lowry on top form with ‘Cardiff Millennium Centre’
Also liked Henry Walsh’s lone walkers in the snow and his Banksy-like figure with an umbrella and balloon girl
Albany Gallery, 74b Albany Road, Cardiff. Until Sat 9 Sept.
words RHONDA LEE REALI