Roger Cecil

Roger Cecil, who died this year, was born, lived and worked in Abertillery just a stone's throw from Pontypool where I grew up and went to school. I would have liked to have known that. Would I have knocked on his door and asked to see his paintings? He lived alone and spent his life painting; not a recluse but, from all accounts, a friendly man who would have been welcoming. He leaves behind paintings to captivate and intrigue the viewer - that's all painters can hope for...

Untitled - oil and mixed media on canvas. Roger Cecil.

Rain in London

Cardiff gets it's fair share of rain so I'm used to it but London has never seemed to me to be so drenched and bedraggled as it is now. There are are gaps in the grey skies when the sun weakly breaks through but not enough to dry the ground to let me go in the garden and start attacking the overgrown shrubs and dense undergrowth. Instead I amuse myself by imagining I am descending into the Underground station in Cologne where I can admire this extraordinary mural by Katharina Grosse.