Creative family on show

A NEW exhibition will reflect the talent of a creative South Wales family, spanning almost a century.

The selection of varied artwork by Strinda Davies, her late mother and great niece will be displayed at Art in the Attic, at the Robert Maskrey Gallery, in Porth, until May 6.

The exhibition, Paintbrush in the Milk, has been put together by Strinda Davies, an artist, former independent film animator in north west England and retired local government arts officer who worked in the South Wales Valleys for more than 20 years.

Initially inspired by her late mother, Eva Elizabeth Davies, who first trained in the 1920s, Strinda says she takes most of her ideas from nature, especially trees and landscapes.

The gallery is in Jenkin Street, Porth, in the iconic Thomas & Evans Welsh Hills Works building, once the home of Corona Pop and now owned and run by charity Valleys Kids.

Strinda, who lives in Pyle, Bridgend, said: “I’m very proud of the link between my mother’s work, mine and that of my great niece, Emma Kokoc, and it’s a pleasure to be able to showcase it all together.

“My mother, Eva Elizabeth Davies, was awarded a scholarship to study at Swansea School of Art from a young age, starting in the late 1920s until the mid 1930s.

“Teaching art at evening classes for most of her adult life, she somehow made time for her own drawing and painting while raising four children and managing life around my father’s shift work.”

“It is a delight also to include an original piece by my great-niece, Emma Kokoc, who is studying art at school in Bridgend.

“It is a portrait of her lively family and was included in the online exhibition of the Royal Academy Young Artists’ Summer Show in 2021.

Paintbrush in the Milk can be viewed at Art in the Attic, the Robert Maskrey gallery in The Factory, Monday – Friday from 10am-4pm.