I went to the local Guildhall in Cardigan where this artist had an exhibition. I also persuaded him to give me a telephone interview.
David Beattie is a working printmaker/artist and sculptor of over thirty years experience. Working from his studio/gallery in the rural Welsh village of Llandygwydd. David produces a range of finely detailed rural landscape, livestock and market character studies capturing the everyday sights and scenes that make Wales unique. All the works in the studio are handprinted on the premises using traditional “Intaglio”print making methods unchanged in over 400 years.
Using methods unchanged in over 400 years, David’s etchings have been exhibited in Royal Academy Summer shows and sold through Christies’ contemporary catalogues.
All of the works in the studio are produced and handprinted on the premises using the skilled and traditional methods of “original” printmaking.
David Beattie is an established artist and etcher with over twenty five years professional experience behind him. He mainly works using the acid etching process in which he has developed an international reputation for his skill and attention to detail. He also uses other media from time to time, including watercolours, gouache, pen and ink, acrylic , wood carving, ceramics and more recently welded metal sculpture.
His etchings depict a wide range of subjects including rural landscapes, carousel horses, livestock and market character studies and in the last few years Hares.He told me the hares came from the fact that he and his wife had 9 years of commuting from the Midlands taking 5 hors to reach Wales – travelling via Aberystwyth and coming down Lady Road at 10-11 pm at night they always saw hares. So as he fell in love with Wales the hares became associated with that feeling – he is the hare who tells stories about this place. He is contantly inspired to create more hares such as his recent work the beehare. He has always run with the hare rather than hunt with the Hounds!
To understand more he suggested visiting his web site ttps://daicelf.deviantart.com more detail on his work and motivation can be found on this site and to read The Artful Hare by Alan Marshall.
His work has found places in galleries across Britain and abroad as well as the Royal Academy Summer Shows and Christie\\\’s Contemporary Art Catalogues. All his etchings are produced in his own studio/gallery using traditional Intaglio printmaking methods which have remained unchanged in over 400 years.
David was born in Nottingham in 1955, following his A-Level studies he went on to study art and design at Loughborough College of Education from 1974 to 1977 where he was introduced to various media.. ceramics, sculpture, and original printmaking processes.. such as screenprinting, linocut, lithography etc…
It was during this time that he first developed an interest in the traditional copperplate acid etching process which he went on to choose as the preferred medium for his work.
After leaving college, deciding that being an artist took precidence over being an art teacher. He briefly worked for the civil service (H.M. Customs & Excise) before deciding to pursue a career as a professional artist in 1980 (the year he married Annette) specialising in etching. Throughout the 1980\\\’s he developed a reputation for himself as a highly skilled etcher and had his work accepted to numerous art galleries and catalogues. His influences during this period included sixties pop art and culture, Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore and Samuel Palmer.
In 1988 David and his young family moved to Llandygwydd, a small, quiet village near Cardigan in West Wales. David found the countryside and rural way of life presented him with a wealth of possible subject matter for his work as well as providing the ideal environment in which to work and raise his daughter Hannah and later two additions ..Heulwen (known as \\\”The Frog\\\”) and Rhys (\\\”The Boy\\\”).
The move also gave David the opportunity to establish his own private studio. Previously it had always been the spare bedroom of the houses he and Annette had lived in. Renovating the garage of his house produced both a working space and a permanent display area in which visitors could both view the works and him at work.
The large garden that came with the property allowed David and Annette to house a number of suitable \\\”subjects\\\” for his work and currently the garden population comprises of 6 cats, 6 Ducks, 1 Goose, and 5 chickens. The fresh eggs are always a welcome addition to the family diet.
Today David sells much of his work directly through his own studio/gallery and by exhibiting with the Pembrokeshire Craftsmen\\\’s Circle and at various craft and agricultural shows in Wales, which also provide him with much of the inspiration for his work.
Education
Coleg Sir Gar University of West Wales Arts
Degree Name Bachelor’s Degree
Field Of Study SCULPTURE
Grade First
Dates attended or expected graduation –
Casting Iron . Casting Bronze. Medal winner at 2014 British Art Medal Competition. Mastered Lost Wax mould making. Stone and Wood carving.
CREATIVE ARTS TODAY 