Llyn Idwal

Alfred Kemp Wiffen was a British artist, draughtsman, printmaker and teacher. After the First World War and following a brief period of farming, Wiffen attended Nottingham School of Art under Joseph Else. He taught graphic design at Liverpool School of Art and retired in 1961. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, Liverpool Academy and Royal Cambrian Academy, the two latter of which he was a member. He was also a member of the Deeside Art Group. Llyn Idwal is a small lake in the Glyderau mountains, in Snowdonia, North Wales. Wiffen drew the scene from a viewpoint between Glyder Fach and Glyder Fawr, looking down the Nant Ffrancon Valley towards the town of Bethesda. He commented: 'I used a J nib & fixed sepia ink to draw the mountain structure & then washed in with water-colour. It was a very happy drawing done at great speed. My two children...were with me and complained of the cold as I sat sketching.'