I was able to spend two days at the Steelworks in Port Talbot back in October last year, when Tata Steel UK allowed me onsite to begin a project to create a series of portraits of steel workers there. I met sixteen employees who represented the wide range of different roles and expertise of those working at the steelworks. I made some quick sketches with the sitters which I continued to work into following my visit to use as my preparatory drawings for the final portraits. I also made audio interviews with each sitter to accompany the paintings. I spent the first day at the steel production side of the site, and the second over at the two blast furnaces, which were in the process of being decommissioned when I visited, having already "gone cold" (or almost - one was still smoking after almost a month!).
It was an inspiring experience for me to meet some of the people that work at Port Talbot, and I was grateful that Tata Steel UK gave me the opportunity to visit the site, which I had been fascinated by since being a small kid, always looking out the window of the car as my parents drove along the M4 on the way to see my grandparents in nearby Gorseinon.
It was an inspiring experience for me to meet some of the people that work at Port Talbot, and I was grateful that Tata Steel UK gave me the opportunity to visit the site, which I had been fascinated by since being a small kid, always looking out the window of the car as my parents drove along the M4 on the way to see my grandparents in nearby Gorseinon.
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