Two years ago, I obtained a first class Honours degree in Fine Art at UCW (Weston College) and for one of my main projects I painted scenes from my family history.  The above painting shows different people from my ancestry in a setting which was part of their life.  This painting is approximately 3 metres x 1 metre in size and is a trypich produced over 3 canvases.

I am planning to do commissions for people (on a smaller scale than this) based on their family history to produce a family heirloom painted in oil.  The price will start at around £400 (and with no upper limit!!)  depending on size and how much work is involved.

In addition to this I have produced a series of collages and prints, a selection of which are shown below.  These can also be produced as commissions with images of the client's own family history.  Prices start around £200 according to the size and the amount of work.

From Landscape to Family History

Captivated by magic light on the landscape,

flashing and flickering  through the trees,

reshaping hills and mountains

Black,  green then gold.

Sometimes an eerie stillness,

Sometimes sunny

and bathed in birdsong.

Teeming with hidden stories,

past dramas and secret liaisons. 

But wait

An invisible thread

Draws me back to the ancestors

through the mists of time

to tell their story

with paint, ink, collage and love

I did not meet them all

but I know them

They live in my heart

and clamour to be heard once more

Their landscapes mysterious yet strangely familiar

                                    Val Newman