Gareth Parry RCA 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 before returning to studio work based on sketches and memory, which he thinks of "as the companion of observation".
His landscapes and seascapes, whilst inspired by his local surroundings 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.
When painting the towns and communities he knows so well, memory and a certain nostalgia come up against his own observations and concerns about life in a modern, ever-changing Wales.
Gareth has been exhibiting successfully in London and Wales for many years, and his work can be found in both Public and Private Collections in the UK and abroad. In 2006 Gareth was elected a member of the Royal Cambrian Academy.
Gareth Parry had his first major exhibition with us February 2020, and we produced a book to coincide with his 70th Birthday exhibition in 2021. Gareth presented a new body of work in August 2023.