Gareth Parry RCA

Gareth Parry was born in the slate quarrying town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales, in 1951. After leaving school he went on to study at the Manchester College of Art in the late 1960's. Following that, he worked at a local mine for two years before starting to paint once again.

For a long time he worked mostly on private commissions and "anything to make a living by the brush".  Then in 1980 he decided to concentrate on exhibitions, and as he says, "doing what I like".  For many years he painted en plein air only, "the best training I could ever have had", before reverting to studio work based on sketches and memory, which he thinks of "as the companion of observation".

His work is mostly about "Cymru" and "Y Cymry" (land and the people).The "people paintings" often reflect his own concerns about living in a changing Wales. His landscapes and seascapes, whilst inspired by his local environment of Wales, are more about weather and the natural elements than the place alone.  He works predominantly with a palette knife, creating enormous energy and light with the paint.  He allows the paint 'to do the work', creating paintings with great freedom and expression.

Gareth has exhibited for many years in both London and Wales, and his work can now be found in both Public and Private Collections both in the UK and abroad. In 2006 Gareth was elected a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy.