Artist Spotlight: Dave Roberts PS

Could you briefly introduce your background?

I'm a self-taught pastel artist. I had a long career in charity management, only discovering art in mid-life and even then only painting when I could fit it around work and family commitments. However, I decided to give up my job and pursue my dreams by becoming a full-time professional artist in 2018. Not only that but my wife and I decided to buy a huge country house that we now run as one of the leading art galleries in Wales! 

What areas appeal to you for your landscapes and why? 

My work focuses on the land and seascapes of North Wales, where I live. No-one who has walked the mountains of Snowdonia or the coasts of Anglesey will need me to explain how I find my inspiration. However, my work is particularly about light and how it profoundly alters the way we perceive these places. I'm especially drawn to the moments around dawn as this is when I find the atmosphere is at its most ethereal. I'll often be found clambering up snowy mountains in the small hours to get into position for sunrise. There is something very elemental about being alone in these vast landscapes in the dark and half-light. 

Could you tell us about your artistic process?

I'll take photographs and make sketches on site, which I then use as references when I'm painting back at my studio. In my work I'm trying to recapture the same feelings and emotions that I had when I was out in the landscape. So while I like to paint the subject with precision (some people refer to my work as photorealistic) there actually is a lot of memory and imagination in the way I then depict the light and sense of place.

Have you always worked in pastels? Why do you like them?

I work exclusively in soft pastels. Not only do I consider them to be unrivalled in terms of their richness of colour but they are such an immediate and uninhibited medium to use. You're working directly on the paper with your fingers. There are no thinners, washes or drying times to worry about; there's no mixing of colours beforehand; there are no palettes, brushes or knifes between you and the painting. With pastels you genuinely are at one with the creative process. 

You mention some 'unusual' techniques? Please tell us more! 

Because I'm entirely self-taught (I don't think I've even watched a Youtube video of another pastel artist at work), I've had to learn everything I know by trial and error and working it out for myself. I think I do the same things as other artists but in my own way. For example, to control the dust I always work flat, starting at the top of the painting and working my way down. To achieve the intense colours and textures I want, I'm constantly rubbing out areas of the painting to get back to bare paper. And I'm pretty vigorous with my blending, especially with my big skies. It can even be a two-handed job on a big painting and literally bring me out in a sweat!

What has been a highlight of your artistic career? 

Opening my own gallery was a very proud moment but I have to say that election to the Pastel Society has to be a career highlight. Like many of the artists I know, I was full of self-doubt about my work; however much my family, friends and customers tried to pay compliment. However, to have the validation of my peers, the leading pastel artists in the country was such an incredible honour and boost to my confidence. 

Do you have a favourite piece you are exhibiting at the PS Annual Exhibition 2025 and why? 

All the paintings I've submitted this year are seascapes but my favourite has to be 'Late Afternoon, Yr Eifl', as it was technically quite difficult. It was one of those where I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to tackle it at the outset, especially the depiction of light glinting on the water. However, I quickly got that buzz that you experience when you know that what you're doing is working and it's all clicking into place. I'm very proud of the result.