A touch of Pembrokeshire recently came to New York, when a local painter’s artwork was displayed on a billboard in Times Square.

Jemma Clifford grew up in Pembrokeshire and attended Ysgol Casmael and Ysgol Bro Gwaun. She is now currently based in Burton where she lives with partner Larry and dog Peaches.

Jemma moved to her mother’s native Pembrokeshire after spending her early years in Australia, where her father was from.

“Both of my parents instilled this deep sense of wonder and magic in my sister and I,” she said. “Always encouraging us to find it everywhere.”

She finds being in Pembrokeshire reinforces that sense of wonder.

“It’s hard to not be inspired by such a beautiful area,” said Jemma.

“I use pigments that I make from the land in my paintings as well as foraging and drying plants to collage into some of my pieces. I’m also infatuated by local folklore and beings from mythology that Pembrokeshire is saturated with.”

Jemma studied both art and performing arts at college, specialising in set design.

She still enjoys creating at such a large scale and paints murals as well as theatre sets and scenery.

Her art is inspired by the history of both Celtic and Aboriginal cultures and she enjoys using colour, texture and otherworldly elements.

This is not Jemma’s first brush with the big time, in the summer her work was displayed in the British Vogue art gallery showcase, with her work featuring in the magazine’s Vogue’s Gallery in June, July and August.

The magazine described her as a ‘vibrant mixed-media artist who combines elements of the natural world with an unseen, magical realm’ and praised her ‘unique original paintings, murals and delightful prints for the home’.

Her Times Square debut came about through the Holy Art Gallery in London.

Holy Art has galleries in London and Athens, and curates exhibitions all over Europe and New York. Jemma exhibited with them in Hackney and through them had the opportunity for the New York showcase.

Her painting Blodeuwedd was displayed on a digital billboard at the corner of 7th Avenue and West 47th Street.

The painting was shown alongside works by artists from all over the world in a specially curated slideshow.

She said she was ‘beyond thrilled’ to showcase her work in one of the ‘most seen' places on the planet.

“It was so exciting,” she said. “It feels surreal that my piece Blodeuwedd, in all her green goddess glory, was on display in Times Square.

“It’s wonderful to showcase a bit of Welsh mythology and magic in the USA and for the natural world to colour such an urban setting.”

To find out mora about Jemma’s work visit her website, linked above.