As I walked the hills of Wales during this past holiday season, I found myself revelling in the beauty of the countryside.  Whether in fine sunlight or blustery winds or even in rain and gusts there is a beauty to be seen and absorbed into one’s self.  The space of freedom; to roam shrouded in blue expanse or foreboding grey , to wander wrapped by green field or  stately forest, charmed by ewe and lamb, soaring with kite or buzzard.  Many of these simple things art caught by artists today in their work.  They revel in the daily, ordinary things and make them beauty.

One such artist is William Selwyn.  Born 1933 in Caernarfon, William Selwyn studied in Bangor and became a teacher.  He retired in 1990 and and is now an artist solely.  His focus for his art is the landscape of Gwynedd, its farm workers and fishermen.

Town Wall
William Selwyn

This watercolour in my collection is of the ‘Town Wall’ of Caernarfon.  It has a grace and serenity about it that takes on to wander the path with those ahead of you.  I have titled this watercolour ‘ Town Wall’ since while delving into William Selwyn’s history, I found that an oil painting which appears greatly the same to be owned by ‘The Caernarfon Royal Town Council Collection’ and it is titled ‘Town Wall’.  You may enjoy looking at it and comparing the two paintings.

William Selwyn is a painter of light, and its’ warmth radiates from his works.  A surety of art founded in his drawing skills which can be seen at the forefront in his paintings of fisherman on the Menai straight and of farmers and their dog.  An artist who is one of Wales’s finest watercolourists and is an artist whose interest in the common and ordinary and has made them extra-ordinary.

‘Apart from work done in Venice and Paris most of my subjects are inspired by the landscape of Gwynedd and its people. I am most grateful to the fishermen and the farming community for providing me with much material to paint. I aim to record an experience at a specific time at a location where the elements also play an important part.’ – William Selwyn