Artist: Karel Lek

Artist’s Statement

The misfortunes of the last war brought me, as a boy of 11, from Antwerp to North Wales, where I have lived for the past 64 years. I wonder sometimes whether this qualifies me to call myself a Welshman! I was educated at Friars Grammar School, Bangor and went from there to the Liverpool College of Art.

I paint continuously, and mostly my subjects are my fellow men and women in whatever situation I find them, whether in urban or rural surroundings. I am certainly not insensitive to the beauty of the landscape which surrounds me, but it is the changing moods of the seasons of autumn and winter, which appeal to me most.

Painters express themselves visually, and in my case, my tubes and bottles of ink serve my purpose rather than words. Whatever critics may say about my work, I hope they may say that it conveys honesty and compassion.