• Winning the Central Wales Open Art Exhibition was a great and unexpected surprise, especially at such a beautiful gallery space and curated exhibition. I am very grateful to the selection panel, judges, technicians, administrators, gallery assistants and invigilators who facilitated the event. It was also wonderful to see such a brilliant collection of other artworks featured and my applause goes to the other winners of the exhibition. 

    I started studying cyanotype at the library at Camberwell College of the Arts during my Masters degree in 2018. Often working in large scale the cyanotypes had to be made in sections due to the ultraviolet container they were exposed to and the water trays to wash away the chemicals.  

     Dendrology ‘the study of woody plants’ is a recent subject I have applied to my cyanotype process. Monkey puzzles, known to the indigenous tribes in Chile as ‘Pehuén’ and ‘Araucaria Araucana’ as the Latin name. 

    Around 2021 I started to create architectural designs of large houses and mansions. With many of these designs I incorporated trees, in particularly monkey puzzles as their symmetrical structure enhanced the stature of the houses.  

    I grew up near Aberystwyth and was fortunate to have a 100 year old monkey puzzle in the garden. Once I left London I started growing my own puzzle trees from seeds.  

     ‘Plas Lluest’ is a large house near Llanbadarn in Aberystwyth. A tall Victorian era male monkey  puzzle lies directly opposite the mansion. After the artwork was completed to my great dismay the tree was felled by the new owners. Only the root growing sprouts at the base of the stump were spared. The cyanotype now represents an eternal silhouette of a once recognised tree. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has registered the monkey puzzle as ‘endangered’. Cyanotype felt like a photographical preservation of the drawing and of the once great tree of Lluest.  

Here Be Dragons Prize Winners

  • It is so easy to doubt yourself as an artist but receiving this prize made me realise that people appreciate my work and my vision. I feel so much more confident about my future, and seeing my piece next to other amazing artworks made me so happy!

    My name is Meg Shuker, and I'm from Llandrindod Wells. I am currently studying fine art at Aberystwyth University. I primarily use acrylic paint and coloured pencil, creating portraits which explore distortion, expression, and scale. Through the use of bold and saturated colours, I want to express a sense of silliness and playfulness. In my current work, I am exploring themes of sentimentality, loneliness, and my perspective as someone with autism. My piece "Shelved" reflects my experience of living independently for the first time, leaning back on sentimental objects and special interests in times of loneliness. The title refers to both the physical act of placing something on a shelf as well as the tendency to sideline your emotions, putting them away when you have more important things to focus on. I combined elements of portraiture and still life, placing a miniature version of myself beside some of my favourite things. I painted this piece on recycled cardboard, which was an interesting experiment, as the surface is unpredictable and imperfect.

  • Milly is “Surprised and happy” to have won the Textile award

    “I love creating art from a variety of materials and enjoy using wool and felting, its a fun process involving water, soap and throwing, its especially great for showing movement and the fluffyness of animals.”

  • The face serves as the essential connection to the narrative in my work, and winning the portrait prize came as a complete surprise. As an artist more recognised for my perseverance than for any innate talent, this acknowledgement from a distinguished selection panel is both meaningful and validating.  

     

    After graduating from Aberystwyth University in 2021, I ventured further up the coast to settle on Anglesey. It is on this little island that I have further developed my work into a visual language that authentically reflects my perspective. I paint in the hours between work and sleep, and as I create, my inspiration rests against the local mountain range while my mind wanders through the fables we inhabit today.  

  • People say how happy they are to be parts of things that are big, it sounds cliche and stuff since we hear it so often, but people say it because it's true. Now I get to say it. I don't enter many competitions, but I really wanted to with this one, because it felt like something interesting and new. Now I'm just happy that I was part of it. Thank you very much for artistic opportunities!

     Creations is a set of three pieces. They are bead bots made of armature wire and old beads and trinkets. There's the Angler, the one with a fishing rod like head. The Guardian, the one with the sword and shield. The Librarian is the one with books in the jar. Some of the books actually have text in them, or just scribbles. The Angler also has books inside, a diary of the Angler itself and then a diary of its creator and then a map. The Guardian has a potion it protects. Very creative names. Bead botting is a form of scrap bashing, just taking things and turning them into other things. Each one is primed and painted and then I decorated the jar with fake forestry for Warhammer figures and dry lichens and broken crystals. The rock behind the Guardian is a real rock. I chose the materials and style due to my interest in dystopian characters, I like rusted robots basically, they're cool. I also like re using found objects and making things out of them, I find it really cool how you can just make things out of other things. I like using my free will. I generally just start with a body piece and work from there, not really knowing how it will end up half the time. Sometimes I really like what I make, sometimes I don't, I've learnt that both outcomes are part of the process. From making these, I get better ideas of how to use and up-cycle different materials. I also, as previously stated, find it really cool how you can make things from things, instead of having to buy things like kits to make cool characters, so I get that out of it as well.

  • Winning this prize was totally unexpected and a total surprise to me. Having my art hung in a gallery and sharing the space with work that blows my own mind with creativity and technicality is an honour and privilege. Having judges look over my imagery and for it to come first is also self validation that my imagery is good enough to grace exhibition spaces here at home in Wales, and further afield. I'd like to thank all the staff who had the vision to develop the notion of an exhibition in Llandrindod Wells and then to curate it to the high standard of work that now sits within the space. I'd also like to thank the judges for their kind words, and all those who have come to the exhibition and viewed not only my work, but all the work here as a collective. Lastly I'd like to congratulate all the other winning artists with their exceptional work. 

     Gareth Williams is a South Wales based photographer whose journey through the lens spans over 30 years. A storyteller at heart, Gareth has spent his career honing a deep appreciation for the power of images to reveal truth, provoke thought, and connect people to the world around them. Whether photographing life on the streets of Welsh towns, documenting the evolving social landscape of post-industrial communities, or following personal stories with intimate detail, Gareth approaches his subjects with sensitivity, patience, and a commitment to authenticity. 
    His passion for photography began in his teenage years, initially sparked by a curiosity about the world and the desire to preserve fleeting moments. In the years that followed, Gareth immersed himself in the craft. Self-taught for much of his early career, he balanced freelance work with personal projects, steadily building a body of work that reflected both his technical skill and deepening artistic voice. Despite his experience and growing recognition, Gareth never stopped seeking growth. In recent years, driven by a desire to revisit the fundamentals and explore photography in a more academic context, he made the bold decision to return to university, enrolling onto the BA Hons in Photography course at USW, Cardiff. 
    Gareth's academic journey culminated in his graduation with a First Class Honours degree in Photography, an achievement that marked not only academic success, but a personal milestone in his lifelong dedication to his craft. Throughout his studies and beyond, Gareth has continued to work on projects that reflect his core values as a photographer: honesty, humanity, and a belief in the enduring power of visual storytelling. His recent projects explore themes of identity, memory, and place, often focusing on South Wales communities and the shifting cultural and economic forces that shape them. 
    Gareth continues to be based in South Wales, where he lives with his wife and family, drawing daily inspiration from the landscapes, people, and histories that first shaped his vision. 

  • Being awarded the Mason Sculpture Prize is both surprising and gratifying and is an encouragement to continue to pursue and develop my work.

    After finishing art college in the early 1980s I trained as a learning disability nurse and spent my working life in the statutory and voluntary sectors working with children and adults with learning disabilities and latterly in adult safeguarding.

    I took up stone carving in 2021 and to date have mainly worked with harder stone and especially granite. I use cut and quarried stone as well as surface rocks, including small glacial boulders. My work frequently includes contrasts between naturally formed and human made shapes and surfaces. It may include geometric lines, cuts, incisions and protrusions and surfaces left untouched, rough hewn or highly polished. I don’t give names to my work but hope that it connects with viewers and stimulates or moves them in some way, whether that be aesthetically, emotionally or intellectually.