As part of the Fringe line-up local artist Carl Chapple produced a series of portraits as a celebration of the Cardiff music scene that were displayed across the city. I had a chat with Carl when he told me more about his work and his work with Swn….

Carl Chapple is a local artist based in Barry, although principally his work centres on nudes portraiture has recently become a central element of his paintings. As part of Swn festival he has produced an ongoing series of portraits that celebrates the Cardiff music scene.  His work was displayed in venues across the festival and provided a visual backdrop to the music that reflected the vibrancy and variety of the acts.

Firstly Carl could you tell me about the main inspirations behind your work?

I have been painting for over 20 years and after spending time in Greece and Italy I was initially influenced by European painting. But as my work has developed I am now inspired by people, as through my work I attempt to capture their differences in moods and character.

Could you tell me more about your Swn portraits and how they came about?

The portraits came about after Rachael from a band called The Evening Chorus offered to sit for me with her violin, and I was very interested to paint her as I have never painted anyone with an instrument before. In fact my interests have primarily been on nudes, so my work normally features people with their clothes off! Then my friend Francesca and a selection of other local musicians sat for me with their instruments, Swn then showed an interest in my work as part of the Fringe side of the festival. I hadnÔÇÖt really planned the series, but after the interest from Swn I decided to make it an ongoing series in which I will continue to celebrate the Cardiff music scene.

What do you think about Swn festival having a selection of Fringe events this year?

I think it is great as it is a really good way for organisers to catch what is going on the edge of the festival creatively. It means a bigger audience is drawn in and more levels of interest are created about the festival as a whole. I am a fan of the Cardiff music scene so it was great to see some bands as well as more unique Fringe events over the Swn weekend.