Often described as a ‘painters painter’, Porthmadog born abstract artist Elfyn Lewis, who was recently made a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy, will be exhibiting a new collection of his work alongside fellow RCA member Ann Bridges and Denbigh-based painter Sara Carvell at Ffin y Parc Gallery this March.

Elfyn graduated in 1998 from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff with an MA in Fine Art. Over the course of his 25 year career he has won the Gold Medal for Fine Art in the National Eisteddfod in 2009 and the prestigious Welsh Artist of the Year award in 2010.

Of his work he said: “My paintings are layered time after time until the upper layer explodes and transforms from its volcanic creation into a vivid landscape. These are eruptions of colour and beauty intended to transfix the viewer.”

Owner of the Llanrwst based Gallery Ralph Sanders added: “Like Richter, Elfyn deploys tools such a trowel, or more often a squeegee and he describes his technique of painting with acrylics directly onto mdf or canvas and of dragging and pushing paint across the canvas to create a richly layered effect.”

Denbigh based landscape artist Sarah Carvell will be exhibiting for the second time at the Gallery, with a collection of over 30 new works, she has confirmed her place as one of the leading lights in a new generation of Welsh landscape painters.

Born in Leicestershire in 1964, Sarah grew up in the Vale of Clwyd in Llannefydd and is a fluent Welsh speaker. She studied art in Wrexham and at Loughborough College of Art, before returning to North Wales to teach Art and Design at secondary and further education levels.

Sarah works from her studio in Denbigh, where the main focus of her work is oil painting, working from sketches drawn on location in the Welsh landscape. She said she is inspired by Nicolas De Stael and David Bomberg and Welsh artists Peter Prendergast and Sir Kyffin Williams.

“I gain most of my inspiration from the Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales, the Cornish coast and my ‘home’ landscape of the Vale of Clwyd,” she explained.

“The paintings vary from the descriptive to the more abstracted.”

Ann Bridges RCA is one of the latest artists to join award winning Gallery Ffin y Parc, born in London in 1960, she studied Illustration and Printmaking at North Wales College of Art and Design, Wrexham. A two year placement at Chester Zoological Gardens as Artist in Residence provided her with her first studio and the opportunity to develop and broaden her practice.

“Starting with observational drawing, Ann combines her eye for detail with stencils and printmaking techniques to create paintings that are saturated with colour,” explained Ralph.

After being based in Ruthin, Ann recently moved to Kent. She was elected to the RCA in 2000, and Ffin y Parc is proud to be representing her in Wales.