John Uzzell Edwards


John Uzzell Edwards was a Welsh painter. He was also the father of artist Charles Uzzell Edwards.

Early life

Uzzell Edwards was born in 1934, in Deri; a coal-mining village in the Rhymney Valley.
He attended Bargoed Grammar School and later took a series of jobs, where he was made redundant but made enough money to be able to move to Paris in 1956, where he could pursue his interest in painting, visiting galleries and museums in the French capital. However, he later returned to Wales, where he worked in Pembrokeshire and exhibited in Tenby.

Art-work

Uzzell Edwards was inspired by Welsh and Celtic art and craft, including Welsh quilts, Celtic crosses and stone inscriptions, mediaeval tiles and ancient manuscripts. He describes his technique as being concerned with ''pure painting'’, rather than picture making.
He exhibited widely across the UK and internationally including the Inter-Celtic festival at L'Orient, Brittany.

In 1996 he was commissioned by the Shakespeare Institute of the University of Birmingham to paint any Shakespearean character. He chose Owain Glyndŵr.

Later life

Uzzell Edwards lived and worked in Rhiwfawr and Tenby. In 1998 he formed Ysbryd – Spirit Wales, exhibiting with other Welsh painters including Brendan Stuart Burns and Martyn Jones. He died in March 2014.

Awards