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This issue we talk to talented Cardiff artist, Steve Alport about his love of drawing, his work ethic and living in Pontcanna.
EXPOSURE
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Steve Alport and I was born in Newport in 1960. I am married to Carolyn and have three sons, Matthew, 20, Ben, 17 and Daniel, 14 and have lived in fashionable Pontcanna for the past nineteen years. My father was an architect and mother an illustrator and art teacher, so from an early age I was never bored, constantly encouraged to draw and build things. Growing up, I always thought I would follow dad into architecture, but at sixteen I discovered graphic design, which seemed to be a great career.
After completing my A levels at Christ College, Brecon, I did a Foundation Course at Newport and went on to Bristol Polytechnic, Faculty of Art and Design, qualifying in 1982 with a BA(Hons) Degree. I have worked in Cardiff ever since, but in 2000 set up my own graphic design consultancy that also gave me the opportunity to pursue my passion for painting and drawing.
Please tell us about your artwork
We surround ourselves with colour within our homes so I decided it would be a refreshing change to develop a black and white contemporary painting style that when framed would look great in any home/office/restaurant environment. Much of my inspiration is taken from aspects of the Welsh landscape, usually painting in black acrylic, directly onto watercolour paper where the combination of texture of paint and simple brush stroke provide lively, dramatic results.
The larger the painting, the more effective the final result is! It has proved to be a popular style as I have undertaken numerous commissions from a variety of clients and sold many originals over the years.
I see myself as a versatile artist. I will tackle any subject matter – the more challenging the better. I can usually tell in an instant whether a particular scene will make a good painting.
Pencil portraiture was something I got into by accident. When my youngest son was at junior school, I did a few pencil drawings for some of the parents of their children from favourite family photographs and had a stall at the school Christmas Fare. The interest was amazing and over that year took on quite a few commissions including some portraits of family pets.
I prefer to work from photos that are taken in the spur of the moment, capturing the true character of a child, not necessarily looking directly at the camera, sometimes unaware that they are being photographed. The finished portrait is approximately life-size and is always presented in a double mount – a piece of art, to mark a special moment in time and to pass down to the next generation!
Have you a lifelong ambition?
Although I have had work exhibited and sold in mixed exhibitions, I would eventually love to have the time to create enough work for a one-man show at a prestigious gallery.
What do you do to relax?
I have always been a keen gardener and several years ago decided to reshape my hedge at the front of our house. It is very therapeutic and has become more a hobby than a chore, and after two years, the addition of a Celtic knot (topiary) motif on the front of the hedge is now starting to take shape. It’s great exercise and fun talking to locals and visitors alike who stop to comment and chat!
As a family we have always enjoyed hill walking and picnicking in the Brecon Beacons and early morning coastal walks at Three Cliffs Bay in the Gower. We are so fortunate to have all this on our doorstep!
What’s your work ethic?
Continue producing work that in my eyes is unique, diverse and the highest quality… I would never produce something that I would not be proud to hang on my own wall.
What do you like about Pontcanna?
Pontcanna has everything… convenient for local shops, restaurants, town and only a few minutes walk to the open expanse of Pontcanna Fields and Black Weir. I’ve spent many a time watching the salmon jumping at the weir.
We have all the essential amenities within walking distance – even where I get my paintings framed by Mike at The Framing Shop just around the corner. I love the close proximity of everything and I always bump into someone I know on my way to pick up a newspaper, where I can catch up on local gossip, often returning home much later than anticipated.
What has been the most memorable thing that has happened to you?
Being present at the births of my three children. Also, recently I had the opportunity of meeting a couple of Battle of Britain Spitfire pilots at an air show at Duxford and also having the opportunity of sitting in the cockpit of a fully operational Spitfire.
I am very good at…
Being a taxi service for my three sons… although two of them have passed their driving tests, I still seem to be ferrying them around and picking them up at odd times of the day and night!
I am very bad at…
Getting up early in the morning when it’s dark and cold and miserable outside. Probably 99% of people can relate to this one!
Do you have a pet hate?
Anyone who says they are bored! There’s no such word in my vocabulary.
What’s your favourite meal?
Anything Italian, although my wife makes a fantastic range of home-cooked meals and desserts.
What have been your most challenging paintings to date?
I recently painted in acrylic a large 20 by 30 inch canvas of a Spitfire in flight for one of the world’s most experienced Spitfire display pilots. Off-and-on it took almost four months to complete and a huge amount of patience, ruining several brushes in the process. It’s a subject I have never tackled before on such a large scale, but it was well worth the effort!
I was commissioned to paint a panoramic view from the Kymin (overlooking Monmouth and the surrounding area) for The National Trust. I painted the original in black acrylic on watercolour paper that was eventually reproduced on a plinth in sepia to reflect a particular period in the monuments history. The size of the original was approximately 3 feet by 18 inches and I still regard it as one of the most demanding paintings I have ever undertaken.
Do you have any regrets?
When I graduated from college in the early eighties, I had the opportunity to join a salvage diving team for several months in the Caribbean (I knew the boss!). I needed to complete a diving course in order to join the team, but with advice and a little pressure from my parents, I ended up getting a graphics job instead. My career would probably have taken a totally different path if I had accepted!
Steve Alport
57 Plasturton Avenue, Pontcanna, Cardiff CF11 9HL
029 2025 7239
steve@alport-design.co.uk
Enquiries can also be taken through The Framing Shop, Pontcanna 029 2022 9012 |
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