A FORMER schoolteacher’s artwork has been chosen to go on display at a gallery in Bala.

Gareth Wyn Jones is artist of the month in Tan yr Hall gallery for August.

Looking at his work it’s not hard to guess what his inspiration is.

Gareth paints Bala and its surroundings from all angles, in all seasons, in all forms of media, forever coming up with new work in different styles.

Many of these works are in pastel – a relatively new departure for him, since the majority of his work has been in watercolour.

“I really like pastel as a medium,” he says.

“It means you can use colour in a fresh way. I still use watercolour – it’s good to be able to interpret the landscape and atmosphere around Bala in such a variety of ways.”

Gareth was brought up in Shrewsbury where his father was a well-known amateur landscape painter.

“I was brought up in a house full of watercolour and oil paintings, portraits and landscapes, and these were constantly changing as my father produced more and more work,” he recalls.

These days it’s Gareth who has a studio full of paintings, a collection that grows as he experiments with different media.

Well known to the people of Bala as the former classics teacher in Ysgol y Berwyn, Gareth has, over the years, received many commissions, won many prizes for his work and sold pieces far and wide.

He has exhibited widely in north Wales, with his work being accepted for open exhibitions at Wrexham Arts Centre, Theatr Clwyd, Museum of Modern Art Machynlleth and Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery, Bangor, among other venues.

His work has been available at Tan yr Hall since the gallery opened – indeed a print of an original mixed-media painting of Bala Lake in modernist style is still one of the gallery’s best-sellers.

Tan yr Hall will be offering a guest spot each month for an artist to display their work, and is constantly looking for new artists to join.

The gallery is run as a co-operative in which 12 artists exhibit their work in their own designated space in the gallery.

The art varies from sumptuous oils to delicate watercolours, bold gouache and acrylics, meticulous pencil drawing to breathtaking photography.

The art is provided by Eluned Jones, Huw Lewis Jones, Melanie Wlliams, Ann Williams, Dinah Delchambre, Gemma Trawford, Julia Harris, Hilary Reed, Rosie Davies, Iola Edwards, Gary Short and Ken Bridges.

The work on show is constantly changing and always worth a look.

Many of the artists look after the gallery during the week so there’s every chance you can meet and talk with them about their work.

The guest spot in the gallery for an extra artist begins with Gareth, and will change each month to a new artist’s work.