Art of Donald Sinclair Swan on Show

 

Gweithiau Celf Decmon Treilliwr Stêm Aberdaugleddau y ‘Maretta’ yn Cael eu Harddangos

Roedd gan yr artist Donald Sinclair Swan FRSA (1918-2004) lawer iawn o barch at y môr. Ers yr oedd yn ifanc iawn, breuddwydiodd am longau neu byddai’n tynnu eu llun. Mae ei angerdd am ddyfnderoedd y cefnfor, ac yn enwedig Gogledd yr Iwerydd, i’w weld yn ei gasgliad o weithiau celf yn Oriel Joanna Field fis Mai eleni – y rhan fwyaf ohonynt erioed wedi’u harddangos o’r blaen.

Ganed Donald, sy’n dad i dri o blant, yn Glasgow, yn fab i Weinidog Presbyteraidd a chyn athro ysgol gynradd. Aeth i Ysgol Uwchradd Glasgow tan 1935 pan, yr oedd yn 16 oed, a chan anwybyddu’r yrfa fwy academaidd y byddai ei rieni wedi’i ffafrio, ymunodd â chwmni llongau Clan Line, gyda’r bwriad o ddilyn gyrfa yn y Llynges Fasnachol. Mae’n debyg nad oedd hyn yn syndod i’w dad, a oedd wedi treulio sawl blwyddyn dan hwyliau cyn dod yn weinidog yn Eglwys yr Alban.

Nid oedd gyrfa nad oedd ar y môr agored yn opsiwn i Donald. Roedd y môr yn ei waed, ond nid oedd y siwrnai yn hawdd fel yr eglura ei ferch, Mary:

“Ym 1938, gyda’r Ail Ryfel Byd ar y gorwel, trosglwyddodd Donald i’r Llynges Frenhinol, gan wasanaethu’n gyntaf ar HMS Barham fel cadét canolwr yr RNR. Erbyn mis Medi 1939 roedd yr Is-lefftenant Swan ar fwrdd HMS Wessex, ac yn anelu am y Western Approaches. Ym 1940 cafodd ei drosglwyddo i’r treilliwr HMT Northern Sun, y bu’n gwasanaethau arno nes iddo ddal twbercwlosis ym 1941.

“Lleihaodd y clefyd yrfa llyngesol Donald yn fyr a bu bron iawn iddo ddod â’i fywyd i ben ond, yn groes i’r disgwyl, goroesodd niwmothoracs digymell. Er hynny, cafodd ei rybuddio i beidio ag ymgymryd â gwaith corfforol caled eto.”

Ar y siwrnia hir i adferiad, penderfynodd Donald ddilyn breuddwyd ei blentyndod fel artist. Yn frasluniwr brwd, dyma oedd ei ail ddewis gyrfa ar hyd y blynyddoedd. Rhwng 1942 a 1945, derbyniodd grant cyn-filwr, ac aeth Donald i Ysgol Gelf Glasgow ac Ysgol Gelf Patrick Allan Fraser yn Hospitalfield, Arbroath gyda dau o’i diwtoriaid mwyaf dylanwadol – Hugh Crawford RSA a James Cowie RSA.

Ym 1945, aeth Donald i Lundain lle bu’n byw bywyd ansefydlog am nifer o flynyddoedd. Teithiodd rhwng y brifddinas, Glasgow ac (yn ddiweddarach) Cernyw. Amharwyd ar ei gyfnod addawol fel cynorthwy-ydd i’r peintiwr portreadau Brenhinol, James Gunn, gan daith i’r gogledd i ofalu am ei rieni sâl.

Yn dal i hel atgofion ar ôl bywyd ar y dŵr ac yn ystyried ei hun wedi gwella’n llwyr (ac angen incwm) ym 1948, arwyddodd Donald fel cymar i gwch hwylio Tafwys Carina. Roedd rheoli’r llong drom hon dan hwylio a chriw o ddau ddyn yn unig wedi ei galedu rhywfaint.

Ym 1949, gan wrando unwaith eto ar alwad y môr agored, ac yn ôl pob golwg yn teimlo’r angen i brofi ei hun i ddinistr, gadawodd yr Afon Tafwys a llofnodi fel decmon ar y Treilliwr Stêm yn Aberdaugleddau, y Maretta.

“Ymunodd â’r fflyd bysgota ar adeg pan oedd y diwydiant yn recriwtio o gartref a thramor. Roedd digonedd o bysgod a rheiny’n rhai mawr ar ôl yr Ail Ryfel Byd pan oedd llawer o dreillwyr wedi’u rheoli gan y Llynges Frenhinol ac ni chafodd stociau pysgod eu hecsbloetio ers sawl blwyddyn,” esboniodd Mary a ddaeth o hyd i sawl darn o gelf, na welwyd erioed o’r blaen, pan gliriodd eiddo ei rhieni.

“Pan wnes i ddod ar draws y paentiadau, roeddwn i’n gwybod y byddai dad wedi bod eisiau iddyn nhw gael eu harddangos yng Nghymru. Gyda’r cysylltiad ag Aberdaugleddau, dywedwyd wrthyf fod Theatr Torch yn ‘fan syfrdanol’ a gobeithio y bydd y paentiadau’n golygu rhywbeth i bobl pan fyddant yn ymweld â’r oriel. Rwy’n mawr obeithio y byddant yn atseinio gyda phobl,” ychwanegodd Mary.

Roedd cyfnod Donald yn Aberdaugleddau yn drobwynt. O “The Seaman’s Bethel, Charles St, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire” ysgrifennodd Donald lythyr i’w hen ffrind ysgol … “As you will have guessed from my address, the old curse has got me and I’m off to sea again … this time for deep sea trawling. Hard work and good money and I hope to God it lays my ghosts for keeps …”

“… From my window I can see a destroyer anchored in the Roads where we lay ten years ago and the ghosts it all brings up are quite unbelievable, and quite beyond anything I’d expected or prepared for …Still – hard work and the Atlantic air may work wonders …”

Mae’n ymddangos bod Môr yr Iwerydd wedi ateb “ysbrydion” Donald. Yn y 1950au, ac yntau bellach yn gwbl ymroddedig i gelf, ymsefydlodd yng Nghernyw lle priododd ei gyd-fyfyriwr o Ysgol Gelf Penzance, y ferch leol, Elizabeth Lane. Fe wnaeth y cwpl yna fagu eu teulu mewn bwthyn ger St Ives.

Cafodd Aberdaugleddau ddylanwad pwerus ar gelf Donald. Parhaodd i ddarlunio trwy gydol ei amser fel decmon ar dreilliwr a daeth yn fedrus wrth ymrwymo’n gyflym i bapur, delweddau a drama bywyd ar y môr. Yn hwyrach, fel arlunydd morol, ymfalchïai mewn portreadu’r môr yn gywir yn ei holl hwyliau. Ym 1969, cyflwynodd arddangosfa unigol o baentiadau ar fwrdd y Cutty Sark yn Greenwich i nodi canmlwyddiant y llong. Dilynodd comisiynau morol eraill, a oedd yn cynnwys y Mayflower, HMS Bounty a HMS Endeavour. Dewiswyd ei baentiad o’r cwch hwylio Suhaili gan ei berchennog, Syr Robin Knox Johnson, a hwyliodd o amgylch y byd. Pan ddychwelodd Donald i’r Alban gyda’i deulu ym 1972 parhaodd y thema forwrol mewn paentiadau o stemars padlo Clyde a morluniau.

Roedd gallu Donald i dynnu llun symudol yn gyflym hefyd yn amhrisiadwy wrth baentio portreadau o fywyd – yn enwedig plant ac oedolion aflonydd. Roedd yn braslunio pobl yn gyson, fel yr ysgrifennodd o The Bethel, wrth aros i gofrestru ar gyfer y treilliwr… “At the moment I’m earning my keep very nicely by drawing people …”

Roedd teulu Donald ei hun yn aml yn eisteddwyr er mwyn iddo ymarfer rhwng comisiynau. “Time and Family,” ac arddangoswyd ei hanes teuluol mewn portreadau, yn ymestyn dros 40 mlynedd a thair cenhedlaeth yn y pen draw, sawl tro rhwng 1980 a 2001, yn yr Alban a Chernyw.

Roedd cyhyredd elinoedd ei dreilliwr hefyd yn fuddiol i Donald pan, fel crochenydd, gwnaeth fywoliaeth yn taflu dwsinau o botiau y dydd i gadw stoc dda yn siop y teulu. Hyfforddodd Leach grochenwyr, a sefydlodd Donald ac Elizabeth Grochendy Castle-an-Dinas yng Nghernyw ac yna Crochendy Isle of Cumbrae yn yr Alban i ddarparu eu hincwm bara menyn.

Dychwelodd Donald ac Elizabeth i Gernyw yn 2000, lle parhaodd Donald i beintio nes nad oedd bellach yn gallu gwneud hynny’n gorfforol. Anfonwyd ei ddau bortread olaf o blant ei nai i Ganada fis cyn ei farwolaeth ym mis Tachwedd 2004. Parhaodd Elizabeth hefyd i beintio a bu farw yn 2021.

Dyma’r tro cyntaf i’r rhan fwyaf o’r gweithiau celf hyn gael eu harddangos. Daliodd Donald ei afael arnynt am dros 50 mlynedd ac, yn fuan cyn ei farwolaeth, cyflwynodd hwy a phenderfynodd eu bod o ryw rinwedd fel cofnod hanesyddol. Gosodwyd hwy mewn fframiau.

Mae’r casgliad yn cynnwys rhai darluniau argraffiadol iawn, yn ogystal â dyfrlliwiau a thri phaentiad olew, yr olaf wedi’u cwblhau ar ôl iddo adael Aberdaugleddau. Mae rhai paentiadau yn cynnwys enwau treillwyr eraill a hefyd aelodau eraill o’r criw. Mae caledi eithafol y ffordd hon o fyw i’w weld yn arbennig o dda mewn darluniau rhydd o’r criw yn casglu’r rhwydi mewn môr gwyllt; a lludded llwyr y dynion yn cael eu gwthio i’w terfynau corfforol mewn darlun minimalaidd o’r enw “Up Trawl, Ballet of Sleeping Deckies”.

Tueddai Donald i gofnodi bywyd yn ei lyfrau braslunio fel y gallai rhoi mewn dyddiadur: mae’r delweddau hyn yn gofnod o, ac yn dyst i, ffordd galed iawn o fyw a’r rhai oedd yn ei byw, ac yr oedd ganddo barch dwfn a pharhaol tuag atynt.

Bydd y paentiadau gan Donald Sinclair Swan FRSA yn cael eu harddangos yn Theatr Torch drwy gydol mis Mai yn ystod oriau agor y Swyddfa Docynnau. Am ragor o wybodaeth ewch i wefan Torch www.torchtheatre.co.uk, neu ffoniwch y Swyddfa Docynnau ar (01646) 695267.

A Deckhand on the Milford Haven Steam Trawler ‘Maretta’ has his artwork exhibited

at the Torch Theatre

Artist Donald Sinclair Swan FRSA (1918-2004) had a huge amount of respect for the sea. From a young age, he dreamt about ships or would draw them. His passion for the depths of the ocean, and particularly the North Atlantic, feature in his collection of artworks on show at the Joanna Field Gallery, Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, this May – most of which have never been exhibited before.

Father of three, Donald, was born in Glasgow, the son of a Presbyterian Minister and a former primary school teacher. He attended Glasgow High School until 1935 when, aged 16, shunning the more academic career his parents would have preferred, he joined the Clan Line shipping company, intent on a career in the Merchant Navy. This probably came as no surprise to his father, who had spent several years under sail before becoming a minister in the Church of Scotland.

A career not on the open sea wasn’t an option for Donald. The sea was in his blood, but it wasn’t all plain sailing as his daughter, Mary explains:

“In 1938, with World Wwar Two looming, Donald transferred to the Royal Navy, serving first on HMS Barham as an RNR cadet midshipman. By September 1939 Sub Lieutenant Swan was on board HMS Wessex, heading for the Western Approaches. In 1940 he was transferred to HMT Northern Sun, a requisitioned trawler, on which he served until he contracted tuberculosis in 1941.

“The disease cut short Donald’s naval career and very nearly ended his life but, against expectation, he survived a spontaneous pneumothorax. He was, however, warned never to undertake hard physical work again.”

On the long road to recovery, Donald decided to follow his childhood dream as an artist. An avid sketcher, this had always been his second choice of career. Between 1942 and 1945, in receipt of an ex-serviceman’s grant, Donald attended Glasgow School of Art and the Patrick Allan Fraser School of Art at Hospitalfield, Arbroath, with two of his most influential tutors being Hugh Crawford RSA and James Cowie RSA.

In 1945, Donald headed for London where he lived an unsettled life for several years, travelling between the capital, Glasgow and (latterly) Cornwall. A promising phase as assistant to royal portrait painter James Gunn was interrupted by having to go to the north to care for his ailing parents.

Still hankering after a life afloat and considering himself fully recovered (and in need of an income), in 1948 Donald signed on as the mate of Thames sailing barge Carina. Managing this heavy vessel under sail with just a two-man crew toughened him up somewhat.

In 1949, once again heeding the call of the open sea, and apparently feeling the need to test himself to destruction, he left the Thames and signed on as a deckhand on the Milford Haven steam trawler Maretta.

“He joined the fishing fleet at a time when the industry was recruiting from home and abroad. Fish were plentiful and large after World War Two when many trawlers had been commandeered by the Royal Navy and fish stocks were not exploited for several years,” explained Mary who found several works of art, never seen before, when she cleared her parents’ property.

“When I came across the drawings, I knew that dad would have wanted them to be exhibited in Wales. With the Milford Haven connection, I was told that the Torch Theatre was a ‘smashing place’ and hopefully the paintings might mean something to people when they visit the gallery. I really hope they’ll resonate with people.”

Donald’s time at Milford Haven was a turning point. From “The Seaman’s Bethel, Charles St, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire” Donald writes to an old school friend: “As you will have guessed from my address, the old curse has got me and I’m off to sea again … this time for deep sea trawling. Hard work and good money and I hope to God it lays my ghosts for keeps …”

“… From my window I can see a destroyer anchored in the Roads where we lay ten years ago and the ghosts it all brings up are quite unbelievable, and quite beyond anything I’d expected or prepared for … Still – hard work and the Atlantic air may work wonders …”

The Atlantic does seem to have laid Donald’s “ghosts.” In the 1950s, now fully committed to art, he settled in Cornwall where he married fellow Penzance Art School student and local girl Elizabeth Lane, the couple subsequently raising their family in a cottage near St Ives.

Milford Haven exerted a powerful influence over Donald’s art. He continued to draw throughout his time as a trawler deckhand and became adept at quickly committing to paper the images and drama of life at sea. Later, as a marine artist he took particular pride in accurately portraying the sea in all its moods. In 1969, he mounted a solo exhibition of paintings on board the Cutty Sark at Greenwich to mark the ship’s centenary. Other maritime commissions followed, including the Mayflower, HMS Bounty and HMS Endeavour. His painting of the yacht Suhaili was chosen by its owner, round the world yachtsman, Sir Robin Knox Johnson. When Donald returned to Scotland with his family in 1972 the maritime theme continued in paintings of Clyde paddle steamers and seascapes.

Donald’s ability to draw a moving image quickly also proved invaluable when painting portraits from life – particularly children and fidgety adults. He constantly sketched people, including, as he wrote from the Bethel, while waiting to sign up for the trawler, “At the moment I’m earning my keep very nicely by drawing people …”

Donald’s own family were often practice sitters, between commissions. Time and Family, his family history in portraits, eventually spanning more than 40 years and three generations, was exhibited several times between 1980 and 2001 in Scotland and Cornwall.

The muscularity of his trawlerman’s forearms also served Donald well when, as a potter he made a living throwing dozens of pots a day to keep the family’s shop well stocked. Both Leach-trained potters, Donald and Elizabeth set up the Castle-an-Dinas Pottery in Cornwall and then the Isle of Cumbrae Pottery in Scotland to provide their bread-and-butter income.

Donald and Elizabeth returned to Cornwall in 2000, where Donald carried on painting until he was physically no longer able to do so. His last two portraits of his nephew’s children were despatched to Canada just a month before his death in November 2004. Elizabeth also continued painting into old age. She died in 2021.

This is the first time that most of these artworks have been exhibited. Donald held on to them for more than 50 years and, not long before his death, brought them out, decided they were of some merit as a historical record, and mounted them.

The collection comprises impressionistic drawings, as well as watercolours and three oil paintings, the latter completed after he left Milford Haven. Some drawings include the names of other trawlers and also of fellow crew members. The extreme hardship of this way of life is particularly well illustrated in free-flowing drawings of the crew hauling in the nets in a heavy sea; and the sheer exhaustion of men pushed to their physical limits in a minimalist drawing entitled Up Trawl, Ballet of Sleeping Deckies. Donald tended to record life in his sketchbooks as some might in a diary: these images are his record of, and testament to, a very hard way of life and those who lived it, for whom he held a deep and lasting respect.

The paintings by Donald Sinclair Swan will be exhibited at the Torch Theatre throughout May during box office opening hours. Further information: www.torchtheatre.co.uk or (01646) 695267.