Colwyn Bay artists invited to use street as a gallery

Shoppers can see a range of art without having to visit a gallery

There's a touch of the Left Bank to Colwyn Bay these days, thanks to a new scheme which offers artists open-air exhibition space in the town centre.

Every Wednesday in July and August artists are invited to display their work on a special fence on Station Road.

Town manager Ingrid Lewis says the Art on the Fence project is going well so far.

In wet weather the artists hang their paintings in plastic bags

"The idea came as the result of a conversation I had with a representative of Dan's Den [a local charity]," she explained.

"We wanted to promote art and thought we'd display the work in empty shop units. But then we thought it'd be great to create an event out on the street.

"The pictures add a nice animation to the streetscape and attract visitors into the town."

One of the artists participating is Isabel Adonis of Llandudno.

"It's a really pleasant community experience, and I've sold a couple of pieces of art," she said.

"A lot of people stopped to have a look, although next time I'm going to make my pricing a bit more bold and clear, so they don't get embarrassed about having a sneaky look at the tags."

Isabel said she was aware that many people's idea of art was expensive, modern creations, like Tracey Emin's unmade bed.

"It's all got out of proportion. People think it's too expensive, it's not for me, but that isn't true. You can have original artwork in your lounge. Even if you're on benefits, you can buy something small.

Some artists are painting in the town centre to create more interest

"Or you can have a go at painting yourself. I only started by painting on bits of wood."

Another artist taking part, Jain M Koffler, said: "It will bring in trade for the town centre.

"Artists always need outlets for their work and this is enabling the general public to own and buy an original piece of good quality art."

Ingrid hopes the project will continue. She said: "The artists are happy, so we're happy and it looks like we'll be continuing the idea next year."

Paintings are also on show on the street in neighbouring Rhos-on-Sea.