Visual art: Shan’s Signature Art at Waterloo Tea, Penarth

Jon Gower

The first thing that strikes you about south Wales-based Shan’s work is the vitality and vibrancy of the colours. The impasto acrylics employ a positively tropical palette, as if the stand of marram grass in one of the coastal views could easily be mangroves. Meanwhile, in a work called ‘Encompass’ the sky is a citrus selection of orange, mandarin and tangerine, all flecked with blue above a sea that has depths of deep indigo. There’s a clear and communicable delight in colour.

Shan readily agrees: “I have always been excited and drawn to colourful works! As my friends and family know yellow has always been my favourite colour, the warmth and lightness it brings, along with the combination of other vibrant colours aids in conveying the emotions of the paintings. Also the bold choice of colours, I think define my character and personality quite well too.”

The sun is a recurring, central image, shining brightly in most of your recent paintings. What draws you to it as a subject? 

I think what draws me to it is again the warmth it brings. Watching a sunset or the clouds passing by is something that is humbling and can be very grounding. So I would say the natural landscape is very awe inspiring for me. Especially as life is very fast paced and robotic at times, it’s nice to take time in nature and reflect so I tend to find myself wanting to paint the scene I reminisce.

Which artists’ work do you enjoy or inspire you?

I tend to avoid looking at other artists or work that is similar to my own as I find that it would influence me and change my style of work.

For the painting ‘Mind the Gap’, with its pale grey of stonework and deep green of ivy, what was it about that particular railway bridge in Llanishen that particularly appealed to you? 

I would say the emergence of natural light through the bridge caught my eye as well as the connection of nature vs the more structured form of the bridge combining human invention with the natural world. It was initially inspired by one my sister’s comments on her commute from work talking about the greenery and trees, however this has since been cut down presumably for railway electrics.

You seem to enjoy and have fun with titles for your work. Penarth Pier appears as ‘Pier de Resistance’ while a simple diptych divides as “East Side” and “West Side.” There also one called ‘Resetting” in which the sun sets, or resets itself…

I do like taking the time to think about the titles I just my painting. A lot of them are based on stages of my life and the emotions I feel during the painting process of each piece! For example, “Encompass,” one of my favourite pieces was taken at Friar’s Point, and I felt surrounded by the sun the sound of the waves and the atmosphere around!

How different is your approach to these to, say, working on magazine art?

My approach is quite similar when I comes to work for magazines, as I generally make commissioned paintings, so will work with the client to ensure the final product suits their preference.

How has the show been going? Happy with the reception?

The exhibition so far has been great. I was very happy with the attendance at my opening event on Wednesday 5th August, and have had some lovely feedback off some of the attendees! I made a number of sales in prints and following the event had some people interested in commissioned pieces for themselves. So I’m excited to see where that all leads.

Shan’s work can be found in the Coffee Shop Showcase at Waterloo Tea, Penarth for the month of August. 

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