Elysia Gilman's Savoy painting on show in Times Square

I created some oil paintings of The Savoy a little over a year ago, and I am delighted to say that one of them has been selected to be part of a Digital Exhibition in Broadway Plaza, New York.

My painting will be exhibited alongside other artists’ work on a spectacular LED screen covering 1,674 square feet of digital display, located above one of Times Square’s main pedestrian plazas. This is installed just outside H&M’s Times Square flagship location, and neighbouring Nasdaq, and will be shown on the 23rd June from 6AM - 2AM the following day.

The exhibition has been curated by Artist Talk Magazine which is a magazine for everyone written by artists, and past issues have included articles from the likes of Porsche, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and the Courtauld Institute to name a few. In August 2020, Artist Talk showcased a similar digital exhibition on Piccadilly Lights, London saying ‘Thank You NHS Heroes’ with a range of artists’ portraits.

I am really pleased that my painting has been selected to be part of this exciting new exhibition and that one of my favourite pieces will be on display.

The digital exhibition will be displayed just outside H&M’s flagship location and neighbouring Nasdaq in Broadway Plaza. My painting is third from the left on the bottom row.

Weatherman Walking - Melanie Williams

One of our artists Mel Williams was recently invited to be part of a group of artists meeting by the riverside at Betws y Coed and the Weatherman Walking Programme.

Mel said “It was wonderful to meet Derek and he was just as happy and cheerful as he comes across on the TV. We did the filming along the Llugwy riverbank and found a beautiful spot to sketch. It was a lovely sunny day and the dappling from the trees and the light across the water was very pretty indeed.

Derek had a short lesson from Alison Bradley on charcoal drawing whilst David Morgan, Jean Morgan and I sat and sketched the scene sitting by the river. We are all north Wales artists inspired by the local landscape but it was lovely to join a group of likeminded people and try out a different medium.

I never usually work in charcoal as encaustic is my medium of choice as a rule. For this I have to use electricity to heat up the wax so it was great to get out into the fresh air.

“The programme sees Derek travelling through Snowdonia to walk a section of the Slate Trail to promote the former slate mining communities in the area before he meets us in Betws y Coed.

You can watch the Weatherman Walking programme on catchup Series 12 episode 2: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00160zv

Metalpoint - A fine art form

Metalpoint is a traditional method of drawing using a metal stylus. As a fine art form it goes back to the Early Modern period, when artists like Dürer and Da Vinci used it to create delicate and ethereal portraits.

Metalpoint involves dragging a fine metal point over a specially prepared surface, leaving a light grey mark almost like pencil. Unlike pencil, however, it’s almost impossible to erase the marks made by the metal point. Drawing in metalpoint is a slow, painstaking process, and is more like shading than modern drawing.

The art form declined after the sixteenth century, when other materials such as graphite became more readily available. It’s still uncommon today, as it’s difficult to prepare the surface for drawing and harder still to produce an image. Many artists prefer simpler, more modern art forms.

There are some beautiful advantages to metalpoint, though. The image emerges slowly, and continues developing even after the drawing is complete: the metal slowly oxidises, changing colour over time. What may seem today to be a drawing in silver and grey will, in a few years, have turned into a soft, mesmerising sepia.

Ray Heaton primarily uses silver as his medium, though he also works in copper and other metals. Ray lives in Amlwch, famous for its ancient copper mines. As well as occasionally drawing with copper, Ray integrates hand ground minerals collected from Parys Mountain into the drawing surface itself. For some pieces, Ray sands back the drawing and layers the powder mixture over the top before continuing to draw. In this way, he gives incredible depth and texture to the drawings. Each piece is a unique combination of the metalpoint and the mineral deposits used to coat the surface.

Ray Heaton is a silverpoint artist and watercolour painter from Amlwch on the north coast of Anglesey. Ray will be holding another exhibition in July 2022 at The Art Quarter Gallery in Beaumaris.