The Craig

David L Carpanini (1946 - )

Charcoal on paper

1972

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Wales Office, Gwydyr House, Whitehall

    The Craig is one of two charcoal drawings by David Carpanini in the Government Art Collection (Snowdon GAC 11012 is the second). Both represent Welsh landscape, indicative of Carpanini’s attachment to the country in which he was brought up. 


    In this drawing, Carpanini invites us to imagine we are looking down upon a small

    group of houses lining a road through the landscape. The fence posts, standing like stubby sticks of charcoal themselves, lead our view down into the valley, while smudged forms indicate the mountains looming above.


    Carpanini exploits the artistic possibilities of charcoal to the full in his drawings. When sharpened, charcoal is capable of producing a fine line, but compared with other drawing media such as graphite and metalpoint, it is particularly suited to the creation of tonal effects. Strong, velvety black marks are characteristic of charcoal, as are the scuffed or smoky looking areas created by smudging the charcoal or using different sides of the stick. Through using the medium in this way, Carpanini produced not only topographical pictures but representations of atmosphere.

  • About the artist
    David Carpanini was born in Abergwynfi, Glamorgan. He studied at Gloucestershire College of Art from 1964 to 1968, and then at the Royal College of Art in London from 1968 to 1971. During his time at the RCA he was awarded the British Institution’s Scholarship for Engraving. From 1992 to 2000 he was Professor of Art at the University of Wolverhampton. Carpanini’s work centres around the landscape of his native Wales, and even in those works in which human presence is seen or felt, the natural landscape is often the dominating motif. Carpanini is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a member of other notable institutions, including the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal West of England Academy. He was the first Welsh President of the Royal Society of Painter - Printmakers.
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  • Details
    Title
    The Craig
    Date
    1972
    Medium
    Charcoal on paper
    Dimensions
    height: 56.70 cm, width: 76.00 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from the New Art Centre, March 1974
    Inscription
    br: DLC / 72
    Provenance
    purchased from the New Art Centre, March 1974
    GAC number
    11011