Chris Richards' Uploads

First sketch I did in the 20 years since leaving school. The beautiful Cenarth Waterfalls on the border between Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, Wales.

I passed this old workshop numerous times going from Carmarthen to Drefach-Felindre. Eventually I parked up and took a photo so I could sketch it. I love old buildings like this which seem to be everywhere here in Wales.

Pentre Ifan is a megalithic dolmen located in Pembrokeshire. I sketched at a point when I hadn't sketched for some time and felt like I should. I didn't give it the time it deserved and didn't even erase the pencil marks. Definitely one I should re-sketch at some point.

In 2017, I had a short run of finishing acrylic paintings after not painting for many years. Here I was pushing towards a more realistic style despite the very cheap and thin paints.

I've seen so many wonderful skies since returning to Wales. This one is dawn over the sleepy village of Llandybie.

Gwenffrwd-Dinas is an RSPB nature reserve out in the wilds of mid-Wales. You could easily miss it driving past, but if you do park up, you're treated to some gorgeous scenery. Here the river Tywi (the longest in Wales) flows past the wooded riverbank then through a rocky gorge on its way down to Carmarthen. Pen and watercolour on watercolour paper (6x8").

At the top of Pentregwenlais near Llandybie is Gwenlais Quarry. In itself, the quarry is quite beautiful with its sheer rock faces and the way that nature has started to reclaim it. This scene is one of the paths that leads down from the top of the quarry back towards Pentregwenlais. I was going to do it as a pen & wash but by the time I'd finished with the watercolour I thought it was too complex to start putting ink in there. Watercolours on watercolour paper (6x8")

I first bought some cheap soft pastels back in 2018 and did a couple of sketches. I bought a nice set of Rembrandt pastels a few months later — didn't use them. I bought some pastel pads, none if which seemed right. September 2020, I bought a couple more sets of bargain pastels and tried a couple of pieces — no good, still couldn't bring myself to use them. Jess bought me pastel pencils for Christmas — I was too scared to use them. I even bought a pad of Pastelmat which is supposed to be THE paper to use for pastel paintings in January. I was too scared to use that as well! FINALLY, after a few unsuccessful attempts at working with watercolour (brush issues), I cast aside my fear and thought I'd mess around with pastels. Some time later, and this was the result. I've finally broken through my pastel fear-barrier. I've got to say, I love soft pastels and I'm excited about doing more pieces in this medium.

In late 2018, after some time not doing any artwork, I really wanted to get back into it. I fancied doing something different and invested in some soft pastels. This was my first go with them and it was a hell of a learning curve about how they adhere to the paper, and how they blend. I'm not really sure the pastels I was using were soft enough for the look I wanted, but I like how loose this one turned out.

Another tiny 4x6" acrylic. This one is of Rhossili Bay in the Gower - voted one of the top ten beaches in the world according to Trip Advisor.

This little acrylic was inspired by the autumn morning skies over Penrhos. My partner and I lived with her parents for a time while we renovated our first house. I used to hang out the 3rd floor window in the mornings to take reference shots of the skies.

My first art of 2021, and the first in about 7 months after feeling blocked since last year. Reference was some random photo of a house on a country lane from when I used to go for long walks in Sussex. I decided to push myself into doing some form of artwork every day. This was the result from day three.

I started messing about with line and wash. I really enjoyed the speed and looseness of working on this piece. In hindsight, I'm wondering if it would be worth working on a larger, more considered version as there is quite a lot of nice texture that is missing here. Pen & watercolour on watercolour paper (4x6").

Looking towards Carn Goch hill fort near Llandeilo. Pen on sketchbook paper (6"x8")

Another early acrylic work from 2017.

The reference for this painting was a quick snap I took at the roadside on a trip up to Angelsey. Didn't really manage to capture the scale or the atmosphere.

In late 2018, I started trying to be a bit more playful with art and experiment. This was a quick watercolour sketch I did. I'd like to revisit this one as a full watercolour painting.

I started painting with acrylics again towards the end of 2018. On 4x6" canvas wraps, they were so small, but so much fun to paint. I was pleased with this one except for the fact the magentas for the foxgloves weren't as vibrant as I hoped. The location that inspired it is Irfon Forest in Mid-Wales. I can't imagine it's a particularly touristy spot, but it's an absolute hidden gem with extensive views over the Brecon Beacons.

A 4x6" colour sketch of Amroth Beach, Pembrokeshire in preparation for a much larger piece. The light that day was gorgeous, but the level of detail in the distance really could do with a larger canvas to make the most of it.

Beautiful West-Wales countryside on the outskirts of Drefach-Felindre, Carmarthenshire.

My first foray into oil paints in 2017. This one is inspired by the view from the mountain pass (a road featured several times on Top Gear). Being new to the medium, I had a lot to learn about how it worked. I'm still not sure whether I'm happy with it or not, but I think it would be worth doing again now a few years down the line.