A miner turned artist from the village of Resolven has been praised by Neath MP Peter Hain for his ‘magnificent’ paintings of mining.
His paintings, exhibited in the Resolven Miners Welfare Club, drew admirers from the village as well as County Council Leader Ali Thomas.
Garfield Evans worked at Ivy Rock Colliery, a private mine in the Neath Valley, above the Farmers Arms pub opposite Resolven, which was driven straight into the hillside and his paintings depict the highs and lows of mining. From a stark image of young boys straining to push a container of coal to the camaraderie of men toiling away in the dust and heat underground, his paintings ‘capture both the wonder and the horror’ of coal mining in the past, said Peter Hain. ‘It is a magnificent display and a remarkable display of talent.’