Ink, watercolour and gouache on paper, created by John Piper circa 1949-1950.

Piper has chosen to depict Tryfan Bach (Little Tryfan) – the flat, upright slab of rock to the left of the painting. The white markings to the right of the painting represent the sandstone layers. The red markings in the lower foreground may be lichen
or degrading ferns. Piper’s notes describe ‘chrome yellow and chrome orange lichen’. Both of these colours appear in this work, adding a vibrant plash to a predominantly grey scene. The noticeable white spirals in the lower left foreground are perhaps the patterns left on the rocks by lichen
which has since become detached. It was painted around 1949-50, a period when Piper was renting
Bodesi farmhouse, a short distance away. The close proximity of Tryfan to his house would have made it easy for Piper to explore the rocks at the base of Tryfan.

Reference number: DA008137