Mary Herbert

I create paintings of mid-Wales landscapes, where light can change abruptly across wooded slopes, rivers, and the coastal margin.  I’m interested in transitional conditions – twilight, passing cloud, rain clearing, and the contrast of sun and shade.  Painting with oils suits this attention to time, combining fast, energetic brushstrokes with layered, considered details.  The landscape is full of movement and life, whilst the space and calm so characteristic of the Cambrian mountains and Cardigan Bay prompts me to slow down and be present. My work is grounded in observation but shaped by memory and feeling, clarifying what matters most to me about being within the scene and how it feels to be there.