FRIENDS OF BRECON AND DISTRICT MIND

KEITH BAYLISS, ARTIST : THE ENCLOSED GARDEN

Talking about his art which explores feelings

Wednesday 19th October 2016, The Castle of Brecon Hotel, Castle Square, Brecon, 7pm, £5 (Friends £2)

Keith Bayliss, the well-known Swansea artist, has worked in a psychiatric hospital and as community arts officer for that city. On 19th October he will talk to the Friends of Brecon and District Mind about his distinctive artwork which explores and expresses feelings such as love, loss and need.

Born in 1954, he has, since 1991, worked as a freelance figurative artist and artist in education. 'I work in a variety of media - pencil and ink on paper, oil on canvas, relief printing and, in the last few years, small mixed-media constructions,' he explains. 'In my painting I work on a large scale, with figures almost life size. They inhabit a simple setting, the curve of a hill, a moon. They are single or in pairs, sometimes interacting, sometimes moving in opposite directions. My most recent work consists of half life-size figurative constructions in tissue.'

Keith has exhibited widely in Wales as well as in the Czech Republic, Belgium, Germany and Serbia. He often collaborates or responds to the work of poets including David Greenslade, David Thomas and Dylan Thomas. He held a one-man show at Swansea's Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. Recent exhibitions include Hortus Conclusus / The Enclosed Garden, at Swansea's Mission Gallery in 2012, and an installation, Swsana and the Elders at Oriel Q, Narberth, in 2016.

In 2013 Keith held a residency at the National Waterfront Museum, a project called The Journey, which involved setting up a studio alongside its Stanhope letter press. 'I rarely make one-off prints, they seem always to develop into a series and a narrative begins. The story in this case was not a new one for me – an individual moving through life, facing adversity, dreaming, hoping and, finally, finding solace.'

The Friends support the work of Brecon and District Mind and raise awareness of mental health issues in and around Brecon, Crickhowell, Talgarth and Hay-on-Wye. It is open to all and holds talks, activities and fund-raising events.

Brecon and District Mind, Tŷ Croeso, St David’s House, 48 Free Street, Brecon, Powys, LD3 7BP / 01874 611529 / / www.breconmind.org.uk

Friends of Brecon and District Mind: