Rhiw to Bardsey by Dermod Ruddock

Original oil painting on canvas by Dermod Ruddock

Size: 360 x 360mm

I love discovering a new area, even when it's close to previous places... Porth Ysgo is down on the coast in the middle distance, not far from the western tip of the peninsula...that's Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli) in the distance. They shipped tons of manganese in the 19th and 20th centuries from right by the secluded beach  but now there's few signs except for the remains of winding gear and some drift mines disappearing into the hillside. The whole area is dotted with remote houses and farms, wild horses roamed as we walked up over the coastal hills and the wind was ruffling our hair (after it blew our hats off!). Great fun...!

I couldn't resist this view, with the sea sparkling and fields changing colour as the heat of summer began to take hold. It was brilliant to review a series of photos taken with my faithful smartphone on our walk away from the coast and up towards the scattered village of Rhiw (you pronounce it 'rrree-oo'). It's painted on a wooden panel triple primed with gesso, so there's an interesting texture in the oil paint. I always like to complement colours with one another, and here it's most noticeable where orangey-yellow fields butt up to the purply-blue roofs and sea. One of my art heroes, Wassily Kandinsky often used these techniques, and they always add a certain dynamic to a painting.