Marine art exhibition launched in Pembroke Dock

A gallery in Pembroke Dock has launched a new exhibition of work by an artist inspired by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Rhian Field’s collection of paintings is on display in the foyer gallery of the National Park Authority’s head office in Llanion Park, Pembroke Dock.

The painter has just completed an Artist-in-Residence stint at the Park Authority’s Oriel y Parc Gallery and Visitor Centre in St Davids, where she created new work including a striking painting depicting St David’s Cathedral immersed underwater.

Chairman of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority Cllr Tony Brinsden said: “This free art gallery at Llanion Park gives the community we are part of the chance to view local art inspired by the beautiful National Park which we, as an Authority, are committed to conserving and promoting.

“Rhian has enjoyed a very successful residency at Oriel y Parc and we hope people will call in to see her paintings here in Pembroke Dock as they are well worth a look.”

Rhian Field’s studio is nestled at the foot of the Preseli Hills in Mynachlogddu and she admits the landscape of the National Park has been a great inspiration to her.

An artist and a scientist, Rhian was presented with a Coastal and Marine Award in 2010 by the National Park Authority, when she received her First Class Honours Degree in Coastal and Marine Environment Studies at St David’s Cathedral.

Much of Rhian’s subject matter focuses on the natural environment, and many of her paintings have an underwater theme. Her work has been described as bold, energetic and with a spirit all of its own, as depicted in her new Deepwater collection of paintings in oil.

Rhian said: “There is hard science in my paintings. One of my university tutors said I should have been a social scientist. This is because my art is about reminding people who they are and what they are not. My paintings are about them and their relationship with the environment.”

You can view the artwork at the National Park Authority’s head office at Llanion Park from Monday to Thursday, 8.45am to 5pm and on Friday from 8.45am to 4.30pm.