DAVIES, Karl, (Welsh, Contemporary): "Meeting at the Dog Park", Oil/Canvas, 16" x 20", signed verso, dated 2009, custom framing, 17.25" x 21.25".

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Karl Davies was born in Newport, South Wales and completed a BA in Painting at Cheltenham in 1995. He has a PGCE in Art & Design and teaches in the Rhondda. Karl settled in Pontypridd in 2001. He exhibits his paintings across Wales and London. His work is in private collections in Australia, Europe, Hong Kong and the USA.

Karl began painting seriously in 2004, initially using digital photography to explore composition. He uses a mixture of deliberate and intuitive brush marks in each painting and prepares numerous sketches before painting begins. He enjoys simplifying forms to make them a suggestion of what they represent, creating a solidity of form, without fuss and literality.

Karl has a traditional attitude towards materials and believes in the importance of drawing. He is influenced by both Sir Kyffin Williams and Josef Herman in this regard. He aims to communicate unselfishly through his work, provoking a memory and personal response from the viewer. There is no secret code to unlock the work, the work is always open to interpretation and without pretension.

Karl's earliest, childhood memory connected with art was when his father made a quick sketch of him in red biro on a scrap of paper. The process of drawing has been a constant companion in his life ever since.

ARTIST STATEMENT: I enjoy the process of creating form with oil paint. I use a mixture of deliberate and intuitive brush marks in each composition. My inspiration is the South Wales landscape. The development of my painting is bound tightly to choices of subject matter. It is the subject, which gives me the form and structure to hang my paintings on. I am involved in creating representations of Wales in paint. Mountains, fields and streets. There is an air of retrospection about the work and of time passing. The work is about atmosphere, settlement, home and the elements. I am traditional in terms of materials and believe in the importance of drawing. I have been influenced by both Kyffin Williams and Josef Herman in this regard. I spend time sketching out a composition before each painting is begun, usually blocking in with ink or gouache. I investigate tone and form this way. My work communicates honestly, unselfishly and provokes a memory and personal response. There is no secret code to unlock the work, it is open to interpretation and without pretension. More recently I have been drawn to creating greater texture in the paintings and making a greater variety of marks with the brush as I paint. I enjoy using silhouettes of figures and foliage and making use of shadows to create three-dimensional forms. I have begun to include a figure in some of the works. This character took some time to evolve. Obvious inspiration has come from Josef Herman and Kyffin Williams depiction of the working man. Also from working on a farm in summer holidays from school. I enjoy simplifying forms to make them a suggestion of what they represent creating a solidity, without fuss and literality.