ABOUT

Collwyn is a contemporary visual artist based in Bristol, UK. He draws influence from themes of permanence and impermanence. His work takes ideas from myths and their cultural heritage, the topography and line of the land. He describes his work as conceptual 'trail lines' with titles associated with mysticism, objects and lyrical abstraction. Collwyn cites,

'I am interested in cultural perceptions of myth, narrative and place, and how the spiritual landscapes of the past can shape culture today. I look for locations that inspire an idea for a story, and research that place to see if anything stirs in me. Sometimes the paintings are rooted in reality, the physical place, and sometimes prose I’ve read, folklore or music opens the painting up into the imagination. I reflect on my own experiences and look to extend my vocabulary to film and music.’

In 2025, Collwyn collaborated with Somatic Bodywork and Movement Artist, Jan Ming Lee, to create a film and series of paintings exploring a modern resurgence toward nature-based spiritualities. The paintings and film were set in Somerset, and one location at Stanton Drew stone circle near Chew Valley. ‘There’s always a draw towards our past, particularly for me to neo-lithic monoliths, their surroundings, and their geoarchaeological importance. I approach these sites with an archaeologist hat on, but I always romanticize how our ancestors viewed the world looking at these stones’. These created the paintings ‘Dancers of Stanton’, ‘The Ritual’ and ‘The Great Circle’.

Further paintings from this collection look at ‘ecopoetics’, the relationship between people and the natural world, and the literary and artistic practices that celebrate that relationship. His painting 'Possible Worlds' references A.R.Ammons 1964 poem titled 'Worlds' which portrays the fragility of life and its ability to be harnessed under the right conditions.

Collwyn also incorporates inspiration from the music he writes and performs, which infer the paintings titled 'This Silver River' and 'Launched'. They describe a reflection of his own life and a search for the idea of union. 'This Silver River' is inspired by the Chinese myth about the Jade Emperor, 'the Silver River' bathed heaven and Earth in constant light and connected both realms, allowing earthly and celestial creatures to meet.' Often a line or an image created from prose will inspire Collwyn’s compositions on canvas.

Working in oils, Collwyn explores alternative mediums shellac and reactive paints. His approach to pouring and applying various media, through reductive and reconstructed techniques; using sand paper, glazes, boards and powdered pigments; creates a sculptural and elemental aesthetic. The surfaces are formed from a palimpsest technique - buffered, altered and scraped but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form. There is a process of eroding the image, ageing it and building back into it’s final form, blurring the boundaries between image and object.

Collwyn carefully sources and creates his own tailor-made oak frames for each painting. He works with timber merchants in Bristol promoting sustainable and responsible forest management.