40 x 30cm
SOLD  

Painting of Bargoed

The painting is part of the series "Valley Lines: Bargoed to the Bay".

The paintings explore the historical, economic and cultural connections - both physical and emotional - between people and places in the South Wales Valleys and Cardiff.

The paintings invite the viewer to reflect on Cardiff and the Valleys' move from a (physically tough) industrial and maritime economy, based on the mining, transport and export of coal, to an e-commerce, media and tourism based economy of entertainment and leisure opportunities.

As a teenager I used the Rhymney Valley line to get from Heath Halt High Level to a weekend job in Caerphilly. Or to visit my grandfather at the miners’ hospital in Ystrad Mynach.

In the 1970s trains to Rhymney from Cardiff (some terminated at Bargoed) always seemed to be, "All stations except Gilfach Goch". Hence the question mark in the painting’s title. The station at Gilfach Goch has since disappeared from the network.

The painting's vivid colours represent youth and the optimism of starting out on life's great journey, knowing one could go anywhere.

Anywhere except Gilfach Goch, of course.