Coastal landscapes through the seasons Anne Aspinall
THIS week we talk to artist Anne Aspinall, whose work is on display at Ffin y Parc, Llanrwst.
Q AHow old are you? Where are you from? No point in fibbing about this as it is clearly stated in the information about my new retrospective exhibition this month at Ffin Y Parc. I am 70 this year, although the actual title of the show is A Welsh Connection as is the accompanying limited edition book.
I was actually born in Manchester but the inspiration for almost all my paintings comes from Wales, particularly North Wales where I have family connections and spent all my holidays from a very early age.
Q A
Tell us about your family
My mother was a frustrated artist. She
What piece of work are you most proud of and why? Too hard to say, sorry.
What are your best and worst habits? Working in situ!
won a Scholarship to Art College at age 15, but never took it up as her mother had been widowed when my mother was only eight and her younger brother was three.
As soon as she was able, she got a job in an office to help the family out financially. Her creativity came out through all the crafts she took up and shone at when I was a child – dressmaking, millinery, marquetry, jewellery making, the list is endless but she never took up painting and I’m so sorry
she didn’t as I’m sure that was her real calling.
It was my aunt, my father’s sister and their mother who were our Welsh Connection back then. My grandmother lived with my aunt and uncle and that’s where we spent so many of our holidays and regular visits in between to pick up and return my grandmother from visits with us. Much later I would return with my husband and children to see my aunt on a regular basis: it was she who first suggested I exhibit in the area.
Q A
What are you best known for?
I am best known for my coastal landscapes of North Wales, in particular the coastline of the Llyn Peninsula and Anglesey. I love harbours, a favourite is Porthmadog harbour which I have painted so many times now that I’ve lost count. It changes so much depending on the season, time of day, weather conditions and light that I never tire of the place.
Q A
Tell us about your exhibition
This exhibition depicts my journey as an artist from the early years as a printmaker, working in the medium of etching through to mixed medias and oils. The landscape and coast of North Wales is what links all these stages. The show runs until December 4.
Q A
What can people expect?
The largest exhibition I have ever shown. There will be 75 works and, of course, the book, also entitled A Welsh Connection.
Q A
Tell us five things which make your exhibition great?
To help celebrate my 70th birthday, this major solo show called ‘A Welsh Connection’ has been put together depicting my journey as an artist. There is also a limited edition book available to accompany the exhibition.
Because I work ‘in situ’, for some of my paintings I’ve been caught in storms, winds and rain.
Q AWho is your favourite artist and why? That is a hard one to answer as there are far more than just one. I have always been a huge fan of Matisse and his philosophy, but I also love the work of the Scottish painters Joan Eardley and Anne Redpath and the Welsh painter Gwilym Prichard I much admire. As for contemporary artists Shani Rhys James immediately comes to mind.
Q ATell us a little known fact about yourself: I have exhibited widely throughout the UK and abroad and I am represented in collections in Europe, the USA and Australia.