All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U W Y

Ceri Auckland Davies is one of Wales' few exponents of egg tempera painting and a member of "The Society of Egg Tempera Painters". There is a luminescence to his paintings that isn't achievable with oils and watercolours.

He captures the moods of his landscapes and seascapes in small bold sketches on the spot, later to be worked into large charcoals and paintings in his studio. Ceri's work fuses realistic elements with an abstract composition. To a certain extent the actual locations represented in the paintings are incidental to the atmosphere they portray.

They are, without doubt, a vehicle to express the artist's inner landscape. He uses land and sea as a metaphor for what he's feeling and that tension is reflected in his paintings. His seas are sometimes serene, sometimes threatening. The dark caves and caverns hide a world of shadows and hidden depths.

His work is in the National Library of Wales' collection as well as the National Assembly. Paul Joyner of the National Library says of Ceri's work:

"The tempera paintings of Ceri Auckland Davies suggest completeness. Sometimes that is seen as peace or harmony, other times it can be a sense that time has passed and the scene has settled to the present form. Whatever the true meaning, his paintings set up a dialogue with the viewer, which goes beyond the immediate.

Ceri has a technique of focusing on a small part of a landscape, which gives the space an unworldly feeling- so that even scenes known really well take on a new presence. That ability of showing familiar sites as strange, almost otherworldly is a technical quality derived from his chosen media: tempera. The paint is applied slowly, layer upon layer. This rhythm of the painting process aids contemplation and suggests that the subject is above the commonplace. Although it may only be a hint, we are always aware that these landscapes have more to say, if we only give them the time to speak.