If you’re going to be a successful artist in Wales, it helps to be able to tap into national passions. And nothing excites the Welsh quite like rugby.
Welsh heritage of rugby
Artist Andrew Coslett played and coached rugby and it now has a big influence on the art he produces. “I draw a collection of sporting heroes is because they are legends in welsh.” Welsh people love rugby, Andrew‘s one of the most popular artworks in his stall is a rugby team, which Wales first victory over South Africa in 120 years and play in new millennium stadium. People all glad to buy it as they get in the Christmas stall market in Cardiff city center.
“I am firmly believe that art is a great therapy and I love to get that back to people. So we have great fun; welsh people painting they are relax; enjoy themselves; get away from all their normal stress, strain and pain,” Explains Andrew. “It is a thing that it comes with confidence and time, the fact that you paint and paint and do a lot of it, so I suppose painting is really always be in my life.”
Background experience in graphic industry for over thirty years let Andrew believes that digital today is really good way of producing what he have viewed. “Because my background in photography and print, I have got all the equipment there I can take good quality photographs. I also need them for reference when I am doing my painting as well,” explains Andrew. “I prefer to draw in the moment.”
Artwork on postcards
His art is a way to show people how Wales has changed over the years. “Lots of my artworks portray the Welsh communities, because what I like to do is paint images from old photographs, but they still look the same today. If you look again for this one particularly, Cardiff castle are still there as Cardiff castle, but this wall with all the animals on top is now be moved and the other site down there. People can still looking at it today and said ‘oh yeah, I recognize that’.”
Also Andrew prefers to look at old photograph and use original black and white as reference. He will print it first and go out and take photographs to see what they are now.
Imaginative is another important element add in Andrew’s artwork. “Sometimes I added snowing to the scene in Wales’ landscapes and architectures,” said by Andrew. “I also will grasp crowd from different photographs and put them in the same painting without people in the actual photograph to build atmosphere.”
Interesting seems like a big part of Andrew’s artwork. “I like to see people faces when they walked passed as well and they are not things that you can buy in any big department store, these is why this sort of market and good for us because it is different,” said by Andrew with his portraiture. “I just like to see people’s face when they see themselves and remember it as memory.
The reason why he choosing postcard to draw the images instead of painting is because he thought, “Some of these have been sold, but I still own the rights to print whatever I like from it.”
Postcards, which can be spread all over the world with a secret of Andrew’s trademark-Turkey. “I hide the turkey in different places in each postcard, which similarly like a ‘find waldo’ game.” explains by Andrew. So would you interested in it and want to have a look?