"A Cold Orange" - First A1 of 5 sells today

An hour after I was supposed to have left for the beach and the glorious sunny weather, and I was still working in the gallery! Just as I was thinking of closing a couple came through the door to see my work, on recommendation, and after just 20 minutes had fallen in love with one of my favourite winter mountain scenes of Snowdonia and ended up buying it there and then :-)

"A Cold Orange" Eryri © Glyn Davies 2010

"A Cold Orange" is the Western flanks of Snowdonia with the huge mass of Mynydd Mawr beyond, taken in late afternoon light on a freezing cold winter's afternoon on Elidir Fach.

"I trudged higher up the hill, no rush, just savouring the sounds and textures, fascinated by the remnants of old industrial machinery en route. It was lovely breaking that virgin snow with every footstep, for a short time at least feeling like I am the only person ever to set foot there. I was eventually overlooking Llanberis and Snowdon and I was impressed by the monochromatic textures of rock and snow, countered by the soft colourations of clouds and sky. By 3.45 I was still about 400ft from the summit but the intense black clouds over Anglesey were now widespread, high and broad, in fact I could only see the first few miles onto the island. The sun was now dropping and not far above Snowdon's foothills. I knew it would drop behind the hills soon creating a rapid darkening on my hill and a drop in temperature so tempting though it was, and not having a head-torch with me, I decided to enjoy a leisurely photo walk back down the hill instead. I'm SO glad I did, The light became warmer, pinker and more intense. The shadows became darker and the contrast increased."

Intercourse on a Beach

"Connection Made" © Glyn Davies 2011

There was hope for solitude and the promise of an evening sun. As I ambled slowly down the farm track, sharp thorns from fresh-cut hedges lay sunbathing in lush grass. Finches fluttered in the adjacent bushes and cattle grazed the tiny ancient fields beyond the high hedgerow walls. The distant sound of the sea increased as I walked. The warmth of the day still bathed me and the light was clear and intense. As I passed an empty farm and a deserted holiday cottage in this quiet valley I felt my luck was in, but as the smell of the sea became stronger and individual waves could be exploding on the shore, I rounded the last grassy bend and my heart sank. The glare of sunlight pierced me from the hard shiny metal of cars, parked unbelievably on the beach itself! I was obviously not alone, nor would be.

"The Cutting" © Glyn Davies 2011

Surprisingly though, the beach was deserted, and as I kicked off my Crocs and walked barefoot onto the cold sand it was almost virginal, amazingly, considering the tide was coming in and that the beach must have been vulnerable to visitors for hours! The sky remained cloudless and blue, but consequently empty and helpless in terms of composition. Instead I focussed my thoughts and eyes onto the stark lit beauty of the beach forms in front of me, still perfect, untainted, secure and motionless. Around the dark rock forms, soft bright sand shifted from ultra smoothness to hard textured rivulet cut embankments and carvings, interspersed with the brightest sparking pools and trickling streams in the lowering sunlight.

"Almost Connected" © Glyn Davies 2011

The contrast between light and dark, hard and soft, smooth and textured, moving or static was vivid tonight, and compositions and juxtapositions were laid out for me every few meters. The colour this evening was irrelevant, I was captivated by the contrasts and my thoughts were clear in black and white, nothing else mattered. I shot perhaps seven micro locations but these four images sum up the way I was seeing and the way I felt for the hour or so I spent there. I left as the sun dropped behind a huge watery grey wall of cloud on the horizon, and a cool breeze increased from the West.

"Light Traces" © Glyn Davies 2011

© Glyn Davies 2011
All words and images are strictly the copyright of artist and no permission to
use is implied or granted by the fact that they appear here on the artist's blog.

Glyn's full e-commerce site is located at www.glyndavies.com