Russ Chester - 2025 ‘Enlli’ (October 12 - December 24)
Having just finished my last project ‘Looking for Wales’ in 2024, I really wasn’t expecting to exhibit anywhere else until 2026 or 2027, so was quite taken aback to unexpectedly receive an invite to hold a full solo exhibition once again in the ‘Kyffin gallery’, at Plas Glyn-y-Weddw in October 2025. I’d been toying with the thought of producing a series of paintings depicting Ynys Enlli (Bardsey), and with the backing of the gallery, was encouraged to develop this idea further to create a full body of work
I’d previously visited this remarkable little island, but hastily had to arrange additional trips, not only to add to my collection of images, but also, to try and establish a feel for the place and decide how to convey as many aspects as possible of this compact and unique environment.
As a starting point I began a series of small paintings. Firstly, to work out the direction of the project and ease me into the process; studying colours, arrangement, balance, mood, textures and technique; some to work up into larger paintings; and some to remain as they were - just perfect in their scale and form.
I’m always very, very keen to create ‘affordable Art’. I know that the island has a firm grip on the mind & hearts of many people, and in the current economic climate hopefully these small paintings would serve that purpose.
Secondly, while it was my intention to depict Enlli from every aspect, throughout the seasons, and under all light conditions and moods, it soon occurred to me that the place isn’t simply about the landscape or location, and I really needed to be more expansive and inclusive in my portrayal. This led me right out of my comfort zone in several ways; I’m not a wildlife painter, but to ignore this subject would have been almost unforgivable! I also chose to incorporate figures into one of my paintings to represent the human narrative and the current role of pilgrimage - which inadvertently gave me another problem - how do I include the significant contribution that religion has played over the centuries without using obvious symbolism? The answer was slightly unorthodox and quite complicated in its creation, using techniques and methods completely new to me; with the name ’Enlli’ being simply embellished in the style of a medieval manuscript.
The whole process - while very intense as a workload - continued to fuel my interest into how people perceive and interpret ‘detail’; allowing me to play with the various textures, techniques and tonal values to exploit these preconceptions.
Russ is an internationally selling artist and has his work in private collections around the world. He has received commissions from Canada, France, New Zealand, Norway and Spain, and exhibits his work in London, Cardiff and the North Wales galleries. He also undertakes Workshops with schools for primary, secondary, ‘O’ & ‘A’ level students.
The work will be available to see and purchase soon.