Dave Roberts PS
Artworks
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Statement
I’m self-taught and specialize in capturing the stunning land and seascapes of North Wales. I work exclusively in soft pastel.
My work is about light and how it profoundly alters the way we perceive these places. I’m particularly drawn to the moments around dawn as this is when I find the atmosphere is at its most ethereal. There is something very elemental about being alone in these vast landscapes in the half-light.
The result is paintings that are full of the rich blues and reds that we associate with that time of day, coupled with intense contrasts of light and shade. In many respects, my work is the antithesis of how most people would imagine pastel paintings to be.
Methodology
I’ll often be found climbing the mountains in the dark, getting into position for the dawn. I will have spent the evening before poring over maps and working out where the sun is going to break the horizon so that I know exactly where I need to be.
I then head back to my studio to work from a combination of sketches and photographs taken on site, alongside a liberal splash of memory and imagination.
Being self-taught, I have developed some individual and perhaps unusual pastel techniques but there is always a method behind them.
I work flat, not on an easel. I always start at the top of the painting and work my way down (together, these approaches give me control over the pastel dust).
I also deploy quite different pastel techniques throughout a piece. The softness of my skies is achieved through copious amounts of blending; there won’t be a patch of sky that is untouched by my fingers. However, the land below is quite the reverse. Here, I want strong colours so it’s all about strokes and marks of pure and untouched pigment; letting the pastel and the texture of the paper do the work.
Bio
Born in 1968 in Aberystwyth, Wales, I’ve lived in most corners of the UK over the years but returned to my homeland in 2009. I am now settled in Flintshire.
I had a long career in the charity sector, painting on a part-time basis. I became a full-time professional artist in 2018 and opened my own gallery (Oriel Glasfryn Gallery) in 2022.
Memberships
I was elected to The Pastel Society in 2024 and am also a member of The North Wales Society of Fine Art and Wirral Art Society.
Scholarships, Awards, Prizes
2009 Winner, Blackburn and District Artists Society Open Exhibition
2012 Winner, North Wales Society of Fine Art Members Exhibition
2021 West Design Faber Castell Award, The Pastel Society Open
Exhibitions
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
2009 Wensley Gallery, Ramsbottom
2009 Howick Fine Arts, Preston
2012 Heart of Bliss Gallery, Llangollen
2012 Visitor and Exhibition Centre, Oswestry
2015 Willow Gallery, Oswestry
2016 Willow Gallery, Oswestry
2019 Artworks, Aberdyfi
2020 Theatr Clwyd, Mold
2020 Artworks, Aberdyfi
2021 Ruthin Centre for the Applied Arts
2021 Oriel Ger y Fenai, Anglesey
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2009 Blackburn and District Artists Society
2012 North Wales Society of Fine Art, Penrhyn Castle
2012 Flintshire Visual Arts and Crafts Network, Buckley
2012 Royal Cambrian Academy Open, Conwy
2013 North Wales Society of Fine Art, Oriel Môn
2018 Radnorshire Open, Llandrindod Wells
2018 Bickerton Open, Cheshire
2018 Oriel Brondanw, Gwynedd
2018 Wrexham Open, Ty Pawb, Wrexham
2019 Royal Cambrian Academy Open, Conwy
2019 Theatr Clwyd, Mold
2019 In-Sight, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno
2019 Grosvenor Museum Open, Chester
2019 North Wales Open, Theatr Clwyd, Mold
2019 Wirral Society of Arts Open, Williamson Gallery, Wirral
2020 Oriel Ty Meirion, Gwynedd
2020 North Wales Society of Fine Art, Williamson Gallery, Wirral
2020 Emerging Artist 2020, Creates Gallery, Monmouth
2020 Pastel Society Annual, Mall Galleries, London
2020 Williamson Open, Williamson Gallery, Wirral
2020 Oriel Ty Meirion, Gwynedd
2020 Wirral Society of Arts Members, Williamson Gallery, Wirral
2021 Pastel Society Open, London
2022 Pastel Society Annual, Mall Galleries, London
2022 Fed. of British Artists "Award Winning Artists 2000-22", Mall Galleries, London
2022 Gallery Holt, Norfolk
2023 North Wales Society of Fine Art, Oriel Môn
2023 Pastel Society Annual, Mall Galleries, London
2024 Pastel Society Annual, Mall Galleries, London