RAY GRAVELL
Olew /Oil 80x60cm
this is a bilingual page please scroll down for the English copy
DARLUN NEWYDD YN DEYRNGED I UN O ARWYR TRE’R SOSBAN
Mae darlun olew newydd o un o enwogion mwyaf poblogaidd ardal Llanelli yn cael ei arddangos am y tro cyntaf yn Eisteddfod Genedlathol Sir Gâr yn Llanelli yr wythnos nesaf.
Mae’r portread o’r arwr rygbi Ray Gravell, o waith yr arlunydd o Geredigion Wynne Melville Jones, yn cael ei arddangos am yr wythnos ar stondin Tinopolis ar y Maes.
Ail gydiodd Wynne a fu’n gyn-fyfyriwr celf yn y brwsh paent yn ddiweddar wedi bwlch o 40 mlynedd ac mae wedi canolbwyntio ar ddarlunio tirluniau a golygfeydd iconic yng Nghymru. Dyma ei gynnig cyntaf ar baentio portread.
“ Roeddwn am geisio mentro i fyd y portreadau a bu’n sialens heriol iawn, a phenderfynais nad oedd unman gwell i gychwyn na phortread o Ray Gravell, un a fu’n un o wynebau mwyaf cyfarwydd Cymru ac un yr oeddwn ag edmygedd mawr iawn ohono”, medd Wynne
Bu’r ddau yn cydweithio’n agos ar ddiwedd y 70au pan oedd Wynne yn gyfrifol am gyhoeddusrwydd fudiad yr Urdd.
Er bod y llun yn newydd sbon a’r paent ddim ond wedi prin sychu mae’r darlun yn perthyn i’r cyfnod hwnnw pan oedd Ray yn enw mawr y byd rygbi.
“Yn anterth sefydlu Mistar Urdd yn 1977 roedd angen dangos I’r aelodau bod ganddo enwogion yn ffrindiau da.
“Daeth y syniad i ryddhau record ychwanegol at “Hei Mistar Urdd ...” a hynny gyda Ray Gravell ei hun yn canu cân newydd o waith Geraint Davies “Y fi a Mistar Urdd a’r Crysau Coch”.
“Llwyddais i berswadio Ray i wneud hyn a hynny dros ginio yng ngwesty’r Stepney yn Llanelli ac wedi ffarwelio â Ray yn gegrwth â thâp o’r gân newydd yn ei boced, gwnaed trefniadau ar gyfer recordio yn Stiwdio Sain yn Llandwrog.
“Y noson cyn y recordiad, pan gyrhaeddodd Ray roedd yn poeni’n arw ei fod wedi dal anwyd ac fe gafodd feddyginiaeth gen i ac wedi i’r recordiad yn hwylus iawn y diwrnod canlynol cawsom ginio yng nghwmni Dafydd Iwan – arwr mawr Ray, ac roedd yn achlysur i’w gofio.
“Ar y ffordd adre mawr oedd pryder Ray am ansawdd ei lais a safon y record ond dywedais wrtho bod Dafydd Iwan yn hapus iawn gyda’r recordiad, a dyna derfyn ar y pryder
“Bu’r record yn llwyddiant ysgubol ac yn hwb sylweddol i’r ymgyrch.
“Pan fyddwn yn gweld Ray dros y blynyddoedd wedyn roedd wastad yn dweud mai canu cân Mistar Urdd roddodd iddo’r hyder i symud ymlaen i wneud rhywbeth yn ychwanegol at ei yrfa ar y maes rygbi.
“Y gwir amdani yw y byddai ei bersonoliaeth enfawr a chynnes wedi sicrhau gyrfa lwyddiannus iddo beth bynnag, fel y gwelwyd pan ddatblygodd i fod yn gyflwynydd rheolaidd ac yn ddarlledwr poblogaidd iawn ar BBC Radio Cymru, Radio Wales ac S4C.
“Roedd yr Urdd yn uchel ar restr blaenoriaethau Ray ac roedd yn ymgorfforiad o bopeth yr oedd y mudiad yn sefyll drosto ac mae’r darllun hwn o Ray gyda Mistar Urdd ar ei grys yn ymgais i greu delwedd Gymreig iawn ac i roi teyrnged i un a gyfoethogodd fywyd miloedd o Gymry”, medd Wynne.
Mae’r darlun yn cael ei arddangos ar stondin Tinopolis ar faes y Brifwyl gydol yr wythnos. Dywedodd Angharad Mair ar ran Tinopolis “Roedd Ray yn ffrind mawr i’n rhaglenni ni ac yn gyfaill annwyl iawn i nifer ohonom yn Tinopolis. Mae’n bleser ac yn fraint ein bod ni yn cael arddangos y portread newydd yma yn ein stondin ni ar faes prifwyl Llanelli am y tro cyntaf”.
WYNNE MELVILLE JONES
Yn enw cyfarwydd ym maes cysylltiadau cyhoeddus mae’r cyn-fyfyriwr celf wedi ail gydio yn y brwsh paent wedi treulio 40 mlynedd yn gwneud pethau eraill..
Mae wedi arddangos ei waith yn Aberaeron, Tregaron, Aberystwyth, Y Bala, Abergwaun, Caerdydd a Llundain. Mae nifer o’i luniau wedi creu diddordeb y tu hwnt i GYmru. Mae ei ddarlun o gapel diarffordd Soar-y-Mynydd ger Tregaron yn eiddo i gyn-Arlywydd UDA Jimmy Carter ac yn ddiweddar gwerthwyd un o’i luniau o Ynys Llanddwyn i gasglwr celf yn yr Almaen. Mae byw ac yn gweithio o’i gartref yn Llanfihangel Genau’r Glyn yng Ngheredigion lle mae hefyd wedi creu llwybr barddoniaeth mewn coedlan yn y pentref..
Ef yw tad Mistar Urdd ac mae’n Llywydd Anrhydeddus mudiad yr Urdd.
ENGLISH
A NEW PORTRAIT OF A WELSH LEGEND
A portrait of Llanelli’s most well know and popular personalities will be displayed for the first time when the National Eisteddfod of Wales visits the Carmarthenshire town next week.
The oil painting of the Welsh rugby legend Ray Gravell is the work of Ceredigion artist Wynne Melville Jones and will be exhibited throughout the week at the Tinopolis pavilion on the Eisteddfod field.
Wynne Melville Jones, a former art student, has returned to the paintbrush recently after a 40 year gap and has concentrated on painting landscapes and iconic Welsh sites. This is his first attempt at painting a portrait..
“ I wanted to try my hand at portrait painting and found it very challenging. I decided that Ray Gravell should be my starting point as one of the most best known faces in Wales and a person I respected and admired “, said Wynne
Both Ray and Wynne had worked closely together in the late 70’s when Wynne was responsible for public relations for the Urdd youth organisation.
Although the oil painting is brand new and hardly dry it belongs to that period in the 1970’s when Ray, a person I got to know very well, had become a big name as a Scarlets and Welsh international player. At that time he had a mop of uncontrolled hair a prominent beard and the strong Celtic features of his were becoming evident and reflected a strength of character..
“ In 1977 at the height of developing the then new mascot to promote the Urdd, Mr Urdd, I felt the need to show the members that the tricolour lively little character had many famous friends.
“We bounced up the idea that Geraint Davies should compose a new Mr Urdd song and we should get Ray Gravell to sing the song on record “Y fi a Mistar Urdd a’r Crysau Coch” (Me, Mr Urdd and the red shirts)
“Over lunch at the Stepney Hotel in Llanelli I persuaded Ray he should take on the challenge and sing the song and having bid farewell to a tough but stunned Welsh rugby hero Ray went home with a tape of the song in his pocket and we moved on to book the Sain recording studio at Llandwrog in north Wales.
“ On the night before the recording Ray joined us and was very worried because he felt a cold coming-on. The following day was memorable occasion with the recording having gone well we also had the privilege of lunch with Ray’s number one hero Dafydd Iwan .
“On our return journey Ray was worried about the quality of his voice and the standard of the recording but I told him Dafydd Iwan was pleased with everything and that was the end of the matter.
“The record was a big success and was a momentous boost to our campaign
“Every time I would see Ray over the years he was always saying that the opportunity to sing the Mr Urdd song on record was his springboard to developing a career after his rugby days.
“ But in reality Ray’s exceptionally warm personality would have, regardless of the record, opened up new and flourishing career prospects as he developed into a regular and highly popular broadcaster and presenter on Radio Cymru, Radio Wales and S4C.
“The Urdd was high on Ray’s list of priorities he was the embodiment of the Urdd values and aspirations and this portrait of Ray wearing his Mr Urdd shirt is an attempt to create a very strong Welsh image and to pay tribute to a warm personality who touched the lives of many thousands of people”, said Wynne.
The painting will be put on display at the Tinopolis pavilion on the Maes in Llanelli for the duration of the Eisteddfod. Anghard Mair of Tinopolis said “Ray was a big fan of our programmes and a dear friend to all of us at Tinopolis. It is our pleasure and an honour to exhibit this new portrait for the first time on our stand at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Llanelli.”
WYNNE MELVILLE JONES
A familiar name in public relations in Wales the former art student has returned to his first love, visual art, after spending 40 years doing other things.
He has exhibited his work at Aberaeron, Tregaron, Aberystwyth, Bala, Fishguard, Cardiff and London. His art has also generated interest outside Wales and his painting of the isolated chapel of Soar-y-Mynydd is now in former US President Jimmy Carter’s art collection and his painting of Llanddwyn was sold recently to a German art collector.
He created the Urdd cult figure Mr Urdd and is an Honorary Life President of Urdd Gobaith Cymru.
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