Personal Statement
I
was born and raised in North Wales where I initially worked on a hill farm before serving for four years in the Royal Air Force. Later, during the course of a long career in psychiatric social work and associated advisory, teaching and management positions, I moved to my present home in Nottinghamshire (UK).
Drawing and painting was an activity I enjoyed as a schoolboy, but throughout my working life I did not turn to it in any consistent way until I reached retirement in 2001. To some extent I owe my discovery of a belated artistic career to earlier professional involvement in 'therapeutic recreation' (TR). In many interventions with mental health clients I had tried to encourage participation in the arts (performance art, fine art, music, etc.,) as part of the recovery process. Through doing this I was able to see the transforming power of releasing the innate creativity of individuals, especially in the case of older people who had hitherto thought that they had little or no artistic talent. When faced with the prospect of more leisure time after I left work it therefore became a natural response to apply TR philosophy to myself. Fortunately I was spurred on by some modest early successes in
major art exhibitions and now I am increasingly preoccupied with both the joys and the frustrations of painting.
Small beginnings can, as in my case, lead to more ambitious plans. In 2008 I had a studio built at
the bottom of my garden so that I would no longer have to work in a very limiting bedroom space. At least this keeps my family happy because the smell of turpentine and oil paint is no longer permeating the house and I am able to leave my mess in situ. Surprisingly, this has quite a liberating effect and it makes me feel
more inclined to experiment, take on larger projects and try different techniques.
Before I sign off I would like to say that I hope my website (and this statement in particular) will encourage others to pick up a pencil or brush and have a go. We all have a creative side and we are never too old to start.
Dai Williams