prints, photographs, and original works of art by Anthony "ginger" cain and nial cain
Featured Artists
A. C. "Ginger" Cain
ARTIST AND CLIMBER
Anthony “Ginger” Cain started climbing in his early teens in the Lake District, initially with schoolfriends, but soon with notable Lakeland climbers, including Arthur Dolphin. Later, on returning to Liverpool, he climbed with the hard men and eccentrics who compromised the Wallasey club. They climbed in North Wales, getting there by any means possible, climbing hard and living fast and rough. Mainly weekends, these climbing excursions were what each lived for, the humdrum existence of the intervening week an inconvenience that had to be endured. No tents, so sleeping was initially under the Llanberis Pass boulders, but later a roadman's hut was a welcome advance in the standard of accommodation. Transport was anything that got you here to climb, from thumb to motorbike, old bread van to cadged lift. The primitive equipment used ranged from wartime surplus - rucksacks, anoracks, capes, to the ingeniously improvised - rope protection slings were at that time made using car wheel nuts scrounged from a friendly garage, the thread drilled out and sharp edges rounded off so the rope of the sling would not be damaged. Although there was little purpose-made equipment - this was years before Clog started up in the old Deiniolen Cinema - carabiners and pitons were occasionally available, and hemp ropes were giving way to the much superior nylon. Boots were large and heavy, nailed with “tricounis” – before the arrival of PA’s the harder and more savvy climbers climbed in gym shoes, bare feet or even socks.
Although mountaineering had begun as a distinctly upper-class pursuit, and primarily Alpine-based - the Alpine Club was founded in 1857 . But after the Kinder Scout mass tresspass, and also impetus given by demobilisations after the second world war this began to change. This new egalitarian groundswell of climbers without access to independent means were unable to afford Alpine holidays and guides, and instead explored the local climbing resources. Most of the Wallesey Club climbers were working class, and not a few had a trade. This came in useful when there began to be a veritable exodus to North Wales in the 1960s. Exchanging labour between themselves was de rigeur, and enabled renovating derelict cottages, of which there were at that time many to be leased or bought cheaply. A strategy enthusiastically embraced by Ginger and his now-wife Vera, first leasing, then buying a decrepit farmhouse and cottage above Deiniolen. Vera worked in their friends Joe and Val Brown’s new shop in Llanberis, and Ginger began to take his painting very seriously, informing his earlier works with knowledge of geological structures, the colouration of which utilised a system whereby colours were cross referenced on a piano with painted keyboard to themes from classical music. Ginger also worked as a mountain guide, and climbed as often as he could, which was frequently. This was a creatively fruitful period, and he began to be moderately successful, exhibiting and enjoying some reputation, acquiring a clientele which eventually included, apart from the painter L S Lowry, some of the most notable British mountaineers of the era, including Mo Anthoine, Chris Bonington, Joe Brown, Mick Burke, Nick Estcourt, Lord Hunt, Jack Longland, Doug Scott and Don Whillans.
Nial Cain
“I like to think sometimes I manage to catch a light, a history, an atmosphere...”
Nial Cain was born at the tail end of the fifties and grew up in North Wales. Musician, photographer, and luthier, he became interested in film photography during working for his fine art degree, where he specialised in printmaking. More recently he has embraced the possibilities offered by digital photography. A lifelong interest in the industrial archeology of the Welsh slate industry informs some of his work as does the inherited affinity for mountains and wild places.
When his parents announced their decision to retire at the well-deserved ages of 90 and 91 during lockdown he decided to curate his father's legacy, taking over the Mountain Art Gallery in Llanberis, and distribution of prints. This entailed familiarising himself with the printing, mounting and framing processes and when this was achieved authoring a replacement website that would better showcase his father's unique body of work. He also decided he would offer some of his own photographic work on this new website, together with his fathers prints, hoping they would mutually enhance each other.
News
I'm very sad to have to pass on that Ginger has been diagnosed with Vascular Dementia. He developed this during lockdown and Vera is convinced not getting out to the climbing wall exacerbated its onset. A recent scan confirmed areas of brain scar tissue - very possibly from mini-strokes.
He is happy enough in himself, but his memory is unreliable and unpredictable - often not there at all for the recent, sometimes clearly remembering friends or events from years ago. Thank you all for the kind messages accompanying orders, which I always show him, and which make him smile.
While searching for a print of Cwm Glas in A2 size in connection with a recent enquiry I was investigating a set of shelves, one of the places where Ginger had stored lithographic editions, the earlier prints of his work.
On the very top was a dusty folio wrapped in brown paper, which I opened.
Quite a few early pictures, from the sixties, in the Rotring pen and watercolour style he used then, a nod to cubism.
But the most interesting was a picture of Dinorwic Quarry, Chwarel Dinorwig, painted in 1968 before the quarry closed, and a decade before the pumped storage scheme obliterated so much. A real discovery.
Sinc Wellington is I think the quarrymens name for the quarry pool in the foreground, now it is of course part of Llyn Peris. The pinnacle was known as Ceiliog Mawr, the Great Cockrel, and as a teenager I scrambled to the top and added my name to the others there.
This remarkable and historic work will now be available as a print in all sizes, titled 'Dinorwig 68'