Maggy Roberts

I aim to create dynamic and colourful abstractions that are inspired by local landscapes – capturing their light, colour and atmosphere in rich and intense colour.I am less concerned with any direct representation of a particular scene than with exploring my own creative reaction to it. Individual paintings may combine elements from different locations in terms of patterns, colours and illusions of space.

I sketch en plein-air in watercolour and then paint in my studio, primarily in acrylic. I often work on several images simultaneously, so that I do not become too concerned with the relationship to the original sketch. I am drawn to areas where both the natural and the man-made elements of the landscape are in evidence. I include suggestions of cottages or farmhouses, to represent the deep, instinctive sense of place, belonging and being rooted in a specific environment, that they embody*.

Having trained and worked as an illustrator, I later taught in that discipline before retiring. I now enjoy the freedom to paint in the landscapes around my home in Mid Wales or wherever I choose to travel.

*As expressed in the Welsh word Cynefin, which has no direct English translation