0:00:02 > 0:00:06I'm on a wonderful Welsh adventure as I discover more
0:00:06 > 0:00:09about four outstanding artists influenced by this great land.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14During the series, as a tribute to them,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18I'll be creating drawings and paintings inspired by their art.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22I'm going to have create in ways I've never done before.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25And when it's all finished, I'll probably turn to you
0:00:25 > 0:00:30and I'll say, "Can you tell what it is yet?"
0:00:50 > 0:00:53I'm on a trail of a great Welsh artist
0:00:53 > 0:00:55who would have been right at home here
0:00:55 > 0:00:58rubbing shoulders with the nation's working man.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01He would've lapped up all these images of people and dogs,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04he would've been observing, sketching, painting in oils
0:01:04 > 0:01:05the Welsh working man at play,
0:01:05 > 0:01:09and recording it as a sort of a snapshot in time.
0:01:09 > 0:01:10Here they come again, second lap.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16But the artist I'm talking about was more than just
0:01:16 > 0:01:18a painter of the Welsh working class.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23He also invented an amazing new style of art that, sadly,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27was rubbished by the art world at the time.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29This little known painter of people
0:01:29 > 0:01:33may have died in relative obscurity over 60-odd years ago,
0:01:33 > 0:01:39but today his revolutionary art is wowing all people keen on 3D.
0:01:39 > 0:01:4375 years ago he was painting in 3D.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47His name - Swansea-born artist Evan Walters.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50But what do I mean by 3D?
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Well, in Walters' remarkable paintings he captured exactly what
0:01:54 > 0:01:58each of his eyes was seeing on one canvas, merging both the elements,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01to see something in 3D, just like you would in the cinema.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Look at the bed-knobs in this portrait of his mother.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10That's exactly what each eye saw when Walters painted it.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13And in this self-portrait too,
0:02:13 > 0:02:17there are double images of things all over the place.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21But if I'm going to paint a half decent tribute to Walters,
0:02:21 > 0:02:23I've got to sort this 3D conundrum out.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Before experimenting with his amazing 3D art,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31Walters earned his money as a jobbing street artist
0:02:31 > 0:02:35at the dog track, selling sketches for just a bob a time.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38A good start for any budding artist.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Oh, look, I like that. I think that's great.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43Wow. That's amazing.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55Evan Walters was best known for his magnificent portraits of miners.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58In his heyday, he was recognised
0:02:58 > 0:03:02as one of the greatest portrait painters of his generation.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05So why have most people never heard of him?
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Well, at the height of his popularity
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Walters gave up his traditional portraits
0:03:11 > 0:03:14for his obsession with the revolutionary 3D style,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16which he called double vision.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Now, look closely at his portrait Cockle Woman.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23You can see double vision elements shining through with
0:03:23 > 0:03:26the two images of the one bottle.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Today, this is one of Wales' most loved and revered paintings
0:03:29 > 0:03:33but at the time the art world ridiculed him.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36That led Walters to a complete breakdown.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38I need to find out why.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44So I'm heading off on a journey around Wales
0:03:44 > 0:03:46in my very own Rolfmobile.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50If I'm going to produce a half-decent tribute painting to him,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54I need to unpick the real Evan Walters story.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56I've got to experience the places
0:03:56 > 0:04:00and meet the people that inspired this young and talented artist.
0:04:00 > 0:04:06First stop, where it all began, a small mining town near Swansea.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Evan John Walters was born here in the Welcome Inn
0:04:09 > 0:04:13in the tiny mining town of Mynyddbach,
0:04:13 > 0:04:18within the sight and sound of Llangyfelach colliery.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22The big pithead, of course, is long gone, but when he was growing up
0:04:22 > 0:04:26it was so close to his bedroom that he woke to the sounds
0:04:26 > 0:04:31of the miners trudging past on their way to work in the colliery.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33In one of his earliest paintings,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Walters captured the Llangyfelach colliery pithead
0:04:37 > 0:04:39in a lovely little painting
0:04:39 > 0:04:43that shows his love for the mining community all around him.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46To help me get my tribute painting going,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49I'm off to Aberystwyth to corner someone
0:04:49 > 0:04:52who just might help me bring Walters' character to life.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57This man knows all about Walters and the benefactors who knew him best.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02He has scoured the archives and assembled a virtual treasure trove
0:05:02 > 0:05:05of Walters memorabilia and some of his best paintings.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08The man? Art historian Peter Lord.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10- Aha, the man himself. - Yeah, I'm here.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Watch the railway track, don't break your neck on that.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15OK. Where does that go? Right round the mountain?
0:05:15 > 0:05:17- Right round the mountain. - Peter, nice to see you.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20And you. Come in. Come into the big room.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25Oh, wow, oh, oh. Wow. Oh, gosh, that's lovely.
0:05:25 > 0:05:26Tell me about that.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29That's Winifred. Winifred Coombe Tennant.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31This is Evan Walters' great patron.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35And their relationship as patron and painter spanned 30 years.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39What kind of a relationship did he have with Winifred Coombe Tennant?
0:05:39 > 0:05:41It was a very close relationship.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45She saw his 1920 exhibition in the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50She saw the exhibition, was really powerfully affected by it.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53She bought three paintings and she commissioned portraits
0:05:53 > 0:05:57of herself and then ultimately other members of her family as well.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01And she really was not only his patron in a financial sense,
0:06:01 > 0:06:02but she was his mentor as well.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06Over here we can see it in...in the book.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09There she is as a young woman. She's in her prime really.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11She's a very attractive woman.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15And the process of painting this picture is recorded in her diaries.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19She kept a diary every day between 1896 and 1956, she kept it.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23And it's lovely, the diary, because you get her very emotional reaction
0:06:23 > 0:06:26to what's going on, to the process of the painting.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27Winifred says that,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30"Today, Evan Walters began to work at my picture in a black mood...
0:06:30 > 0:06:35"staring, intent and displeased glances at my face, and painting."
0:06:35 > 0:06:39But, you know, the relationship is so close and the detailed entries
0:06:39 > 0:06:42in the diary describing Walters' state of mind
0:06:42 > 0:06:45and what exactly what he's doing, and her joy at his success
0:06:45 > 0:06:49in the London exhibition in 1927, I mean, she's overjoyed about it.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53It was Winifred's commissions to paint her
0:06:53 > 0:06:55and her family that kept him afloat.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58After watching him painting once, she wrote,
0:06:58 > 0:07:04"This young man has it. I believe in his genius."
0:07:04 > 0:07:07With Winifred's financial support,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Walters could now focus on painting and portraying
0:07:11 > 0:07:15the hardship of local miners at the time of the General Strike.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19When these moving portraits were shown in London,
0:07:19 > 0:07:24they created a sensation, and Walters became an overnight success.
0:07:25 > 0:07:30But despite his fame, Walters never forget his close bond
0:07:30 > 0:07:33with the mining communities of South Wales.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36I really need to experience the sweat and toil of the common man,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40just like Walters did, in probably the noblest but,
0:07:40 > 0:07:46at the time, the most dangerous profession in Wales, coal mining.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49All of the deep pits in Wales have long gone,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52but I've arranged to meet the real heroes who still work underground,
0:07:52 > 0:07:57but nowadays with tourists rather than pick and shovel,
0:07:57 > 0:08:01the miners of the Big Pit Museum in Blaenavon.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03ALL: Morning, Rolf!
0:08:03 > 0:08:04How are you?
0:08:04 > 0:08:07A pleasure. Thank you very much.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13- Bore da.- Bore da.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16I'll show you some of the paintings he did.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20I mean, he did some cracking ones. That's a miner recuperating.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23- It just shows how tough life was.- Yeah.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25You can see how haggard the guy is.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28This next one is him coming out of the pit all covered in coal dust.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29First thing you do, if you're a smoker,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31is to get your cigarette out.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35- On the top here, because underground, bang.- Oof.- Yeah.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36Yeah.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43I like a pinch of snuff. Now, this is a powder, yeah.
0:08:43 > 0:08:44Powdered tobacco.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47And what it was now, just a little bit, see, not too much.
0:08:47 > 0:08:48Get your two fingers together.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51You're going to have me coughing and sneezing.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53- No, no, no. It's all right. - It's fresh.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58- What happens, now your nose starts to run.- Yeah.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00And you blow your nose,
0:09:00 > 0:09:04and a slab of snot hits the floor that you can light a fire with.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07THEY LAUGH
0:09:07 > 0:09:11This is a picture that Evan Walters did of one of the miners.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Yeah, when I first started in the pit,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16I'll never forget the faces of some of the miners.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18How haggard their faces are, were,
0:09:18 > 0:09:23from working so hard in the dust, or working in water.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28Arthritis, rheumatism, all these things are against the miner.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33One of the miners told me about a human tragedy he'd experienced
0:09:33 > 0:09:35when he was just a young boy,
0:09:35 > 0:09:41how coal dust had led to the premature death of his grandfather.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45I don't mind telling you, I was really moved by his story.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48It reminded me of the physical hardship my own family knew
0:09:48 > 0:09:50all too well.
0:09:50 > 0:09:51Thank you very much, OK.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53He was nine and they wouldn't let him
0:09:53 > 0:09:57into the hospital to see his old grandad...
0:09:57 > 0:09:59on his...
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Oh, dear.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04..on his deathbed.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11Oh, dear.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15All cutched in?
0:10:15 > 0:10:19It all came flooding back, my own family ties to Wales
0:10:19 > 0:10:22and the danger my dad had faced in Australia
0:10:22 > 0:10:24trying to earn a decent living.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27It also reminded me of an old emotional song
0:10:27 > 0:10:30I know about a mining tragedy.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32It's called Rap 'Er Te Bank.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36I just had to share with these warm and remarkable people.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41# As he went by you'd hear him cry Do you know it's after four o'clock?
0:10:41 > 0:10:47# But still amongst the clatter he'd cry rap 'er te bank
0:10:47 > 0:10:54# My canny lad, wind her right slow, that's clever
0:10:55 > 0:10:59# This poor old lad has taken bad
0:10:59 > 0:11:01# I'll be back here never. #
0:11:02 > 0:11:05- Very good.- Excellent. Excellent, well done.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08- Well done. - Brings back a few memories.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10Just a cable come off, and here we go, OK.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13After discovering all about the miners' hardships,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17I began to realise what Walters saw in their faces
0:11:17 > 0:11:22and what inspired him to try and capture their dignity and sacrifice.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29Right, I've made up my mind, I've got to represent
0:11:29 > 0:11:33the Welsh working class in my tribute painting.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Now, surprisingly, at the height of Walters' popularity,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41his career took a sudden dive into obscurity.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I've heard that there was one major life-changing event
0:11:45 > 0:11:49that turned him away from his traditional portraits for ever.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54I had to find out more. Next stop, Cardiff.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00In 1935, a group of Welsh artists and wealthy patrons
0:12:00 > 0:12:03organised an exhibition of contemporary Welsh art
0:12:03 > 0:12:07designed to celebrate the nation's achievements.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Well, everyone knew Walters was too famous to be ignored
0:12:11 > 0:12:15but they only allowed him to show just a couple of his paintings.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19The art at the exhibition was specially chosen to promote
0:12:19 > 0:12:23the fluffy romance of picturesque Welsh landscapes,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25the sort of experience you can have today
0:12:25 > 0:12:27at St Fagan's National History Museum.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32There was no trace of Walters' gritty working class art to be found.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Walters was devastated by the snub.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43He dismissed the exhibition as "English art, by Welsh artists".
0:12:44 > 0:12:49But like all great painters, he was determined to bounce back,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53and he did it in style, with a brilliant and revolutionary
0:12:53 > 0:12:57form of art that came to Walters like a bolt out of the blue.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01'I met up with art historian and Walters specialist Barry Plummer,
0:13:01 > 0:13:06'who's fascinated by his change in style and this flash of inspiration
0:13:06 > 0:13:12'that came to Walters in, of all places, his mother's kitchen.'
0:13:12 > 0:13:16So tell us about this bolt from the blue that struck Evan Walters.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Well, it's quite well known in the Evan Walters story that in 1936,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23by that period, his art had suffered somewhat,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26he'd been through a depressing period from about 1930 to 1935,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30and this bolt from the blue come about
0:13:30 > 0:13:33when he was in his mother's house in Llangyfelach in 1936.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Sitting in front of the fire, like we're doing today,
0:13:36 > 0:13:37and he had his legs crossed.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40He could see, looking at his foot, his foot was double.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43He must have been looking at the fire, focusing on the fire.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Yeah, I'd imagine he must have been, yes.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47And then you get two images of the feet.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Now, it's the same sort of phenomenon
0:13:51 > 0:13:54if you put your finger in front of your nose, you can see it double,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57you can see through it, you can see sort of peripheral vision.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00But your focus is on that near point.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03How unique was this idea? Were there any other artists doing it?
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Well, he was THE first artist to take it any further.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Everybody thought he was completely crazy.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10And he got some pretty bad reviews.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13I think he really felt that he was onto something,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16and he sort of sacrificed his career to do it.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18That's what it came down to.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21'I was amazed to hear all about Walters' discovery
0:14:21 > 0:14:22'in front of the fire.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26'I just had to experience some Walters' double vision paintings
0:14:26 > 0:14:27'up close and personal.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31'So I asked Barry to jump in the Rolfmobile and we sped off to
0:14:31 > 0:14:36'the depths of the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff for a quick gander.'
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Ah, boy.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41I would have thought the brush strokes would have gone diagonally.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44But they're all horizontal. What's that all about?
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Well, he had this idea that the eye moves easier
0:14:48 > 0:14:52across horizontal planes rather than vertical planes.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54It's almost like a tapestry effect.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58How were Walters' double vision paintings received at the time?
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Very poorly, unfortunately.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02I mean, he had a show in 1936,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05where he put 22 of these works up in a gallery in Bond Street.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Didn't sell one. Not one.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10And most of these works that you see now here are from that time.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12He didn't sell them.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15So when he died, he had 395 paintings in his studio.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16How many?
0:15:16 > 0:15:20395. Which came here to the National Gallery.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21HE LAUGHS
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Oh, boy, isn't that good?
0:15:26 > 0:15:29It's one of his great paintings, I think.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31It sort of typifies everything he was about.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35Everything concentrates into those eyes.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39If you go from that blurry vision through to the focus on the face,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42you go beyond that and the doorways in the back,
0:15:42 > 0:15:47and so it's like he's central and they go into two as well.
0:15:47 > 0:15:48Yes.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52- So you've got that out-of-focus thing at the back.- Yeah.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54'While I was at the museum there was one special
0:15:54 > 0:15:58'Walters' double vision painting I had to see.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01'It's always guaranteed to draw the crowds.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04'It's a wonderfully intimate and inspirational portrait
0:16:04 > 0:16:08'that captures another iconic Welsh industry.'
0:16:08 > 0:16:11The Cockle Woman, painted in 1939,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15when I was a carefree kid in Western Australia, by the way.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17But I think it's the greatest
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and best known of Evan Walters' paintings.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24This painting has a special place in the hearts of the Welsh nation,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26they love it.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30You see the horizontal lines here on the face,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33and down there almost like a tapestry.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36And then you see these two bottles here,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40it's like one bottle which is separated in two, and the same thing
0:16:40 > 0:16:44with the two bowls here, slightly out of focus in the background.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47I'm going to attempt my own double vision painting
0:16:47 > 0:16:51of The Cockle Woman in honour of a great painter.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58So I headed to Swansea Market, famous for its Penclawdd cockles,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01to paint a portrait of my very own Cockle Woman who has
0:17:01 > 0:17:06a history of Welsh cockle picking coursing through her veins.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11Today, Carol and her sister Jo carry on the family tradition
0:17:11 > 0:17:15and not even a new family arrival has got in the way of her customers
0:17:15 > 0:17:18getting their hands on her tasty cockles.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20I was selling cockles here on the Saturday,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23my daughter was born the following Friday.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Got three children and six grandchildren.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30- They all help out here, my nephews and nieces, they all help.- Lovely.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34'Carol's wearing her grandmother's traditional cockle picking outfit
0:17:34 > 0:17:37'in honour of her family's proud legacy.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39'Doesn't she look great?'
0:17:40 > 0:17:44I've got to work out what this background is going to be like.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Gosh, gosh, gosh, gosh, gosh.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Well, I've done a rough start
0:17:51 > 0:17:55I'm going to be focusing on Carol the same way that Evan Walters
0:17:55 > 0:17:58tried to do it and tried so successfully to do it.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00I'm going to get some sort of features in there.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05Eyebrow line there, and another eyebrow line coming up there.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07'I've just noticed. Can you see that?
0:18:07 > 0:18:09'When my eyes focus on Carol's face,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13'the picture frames in the background become double,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15'just like I saw in Walters' original painting.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19'Her face is all in focus whereas the bowl and the bottle
0:18:19 > 0:18:22'are now double and blurred as well.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27'I'm finally discovering how to paint exactly what both eyes see.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31'Looking at the double images of the frame, I realise that
0:18:31 > 0:18:35'it's as if Evan Walters was painting in an early 3D style.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38'If my tribute painting is going to succeed,
0:18:38 > 0:18:42'I need to unpick a Walters original painting and see
0:18:42 > 0:18:47'if it might help me capture more of what my eyes are really seeing.'
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Keep smiling, Carol.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51# Keep smiling through
0:18:51 > 0:18:55# Just like you used to do... #
0:18:55 > 0:18:59'People these days are mad about 3D, so could local art college
0:18:59 > 0:19:02'use some Rolf techno wizardry
0:19:02 > 0:19:06'and take the elements of a classic Walters' painting
0:19:06 > 0:19:10'like his Self Portrait With Candle, and make it come alive?'
0:19:10 > 0:19:16I hope to experience a fantastic Evan Walters 2D painting in 3D,
0:19:16 > 0:19:21seeing it the way he saw it when he painted it.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23HE CHUCKLES
0:19:23 > 0:19:272D art in 3D. Wow, that's a first.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32But what we hope to do is enable you to see it at home,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34without the use of these glasses,
0:19:34 > 0:19:38on your own television set in Rolf's wobble vision.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40HE BEATS RHYTHMICALLY
0:19:44 > 0:19:47HE CHUCKLES
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Stop mucking about, Rolf.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03I went to meet the animation tutors and students
0:20:03 > 0:20:07of the Atrium at the University of Glamorgan.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11They've got a terrific reputation and a hell of a show reel.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16I can show you a couple of examples of 3D work.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Oh, wow!
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Isn't it incredible to look at?
0:20:20 > 0:20:22It's coming right out at you, flat.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26Oh, I'm not sure I like him much, who's that guy?
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Picking his teeth.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31But this fellow is so up close,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33he's a good couple of feet away from that screen.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35And this is done on a computer program?
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Yes, it is.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Now, in that program can you decide which bit's going to be
0:20:40 > 0:20:42in focus and which bit's going to be behind
0:20:42 > 0:20:44and which bit's going to be in front?
0:20:44 > 0:20:46- We can pull focus on it. We control that.- That's amazing.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49'I'm hoping they'll be able to peel apart each layer
0:20:49 > 0:20:54'of an Evan Walters double vision picture and show it to me on their 3D TV.'
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Evan Walters, the Swansea painter,
0:20:59 > 0:21:05halfway through his career he decided to try and cope with
0:21:05 > 0:21:10double vision and three dimensions, as it were, on a flat canvas.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15See, what he's done here, he's got the central figure in perfect focus,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and then the stuff that's in front of him has gone whoof, like that.
0:21:19 > 0:21:20Now, I'm wondering
0:21:20 > 0:21:24if there's any way that you could put that into three dimensions.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Can you tackle it?
0:21:26 > 0:21:28- Yeah.- It's a challenge.- Yeah, it is. - It's a good challenge.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- We can take it on.- Are you serious? - Yes.- Can you do that?
0:21:31 > 0:21:32You'll be seeing it as he saw it as well,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34that's the most exciting thing.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Be very interesting to do.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38'I'll let them get on with that little conundrum
0:21:38 > 0:21:40'and pop back a bit later.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47'I truly love Walters' double vision art,
0:21:47 > 0:21:51'but sadly for Walters, at the time the art world just mocked him.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53'One critic said,
0:21:53 > 0:21:56'"I think the double vision was due to
0:21:56 > 0:21:58'"an actual physical defect of his eyes
0:21:58 > 0:22:02'"and the muscles had been pulled or moved out of their proper place."
0:22:02 > 0:22:04'That's so sad.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10'Even his lifelong supporter Winifred Coombe Tennant
0:22:10 > 0:22:12'thought he'd lost his the plot.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15'She wrote in her diaries, "Though a fine painter,
0:22:15 > 0:22:20'"he works little and is going to seed. I am so sorry."
0:22:20 > 0:22:24'After the art world failed to embrace his double vision paintings,
0:22:24 > 0:22:29'Walters became deeply depressed and spent some time in hospital.'
0:22:35 > 0:22:38It's starting to look a bit like you there.
0:22:41 > 0:22:47I think it's going to work. Yeah. Goes through that bit.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51I see, and then that comes to a stop there on that double vision.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55I've been trying to concentrate on just looking at it with two eyes,
0:22:55 > 0:22:59but both eyes focusing on Carol here,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01so that these two things
0:23:01 > 0:23:04are totally out of focus and have moved in the foreground.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08And it's very tricky.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12I've got something like the idea of it happening there.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16'Despite his double vision art being lambasted by the critics,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20'Walters persisted with his new creative idea.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22'For the rest of his life,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25'he continued his passion for double vision paintings,
0:23:25 > 0:23:31'trying to capture exactly what the human eye was really experiencing.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35'Evan Walters died of a heart attack in 1951 in London.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38'He was 58 years old.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41'He never gained recognition for his trailblazing art.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44'That's truly tragic.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51'But there is one way we can recognise his talent
0:23:51 > 0:23:55'and show exactly how far ahead of his time Evan Walters really was.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00'I'm on my way back to see if the animators at the Atrium
0:24:00 > 0:24:05'can show me a Walters' double vision painting in all its 3D glory.'
0:24:05 > 0:24:09- Glasses on.- Glasses on.
0:24:09 > 0:24:10HE GASPS
0:24:10 > 0:24:13At the moment I'm afraid you can't see
0:24:13 > 0:24:16what I'm seeing on this 3D TV, but wow!
0:24:16 > 0:24:21I'm finally observing exactly what Walters saw when he painted it.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23Remarkable.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27It's absolutely terrific. The accuracy is just incredible.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Have you seen any other artists who've tackled this?
0:24:29 > 0:24:30No, not this way at all.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33'That's really made my day, seeing that.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37'Now, I promised you earlier, I've thought of a novel way
0:24:37 > 0:24:40'you can see it on your normal TV at home
0:24:40 > 0:24:43'using Rolf's very own Wobble Vision.'
0:24:43 > 0:24:47So, Jason, is it possible to see the Wobble Vision with the...
0:24:47 > 0:24:50- Yes, yes. - ..those two, the left, the left eye
0:24:50 > 0:24:53and the right eye images sort of jumping back and forth.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55- There we go.- Oh, wow.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59So you see the background jumping and you see the foreground jumping.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02- Yeah.- And the mirror image jump.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05'It's great to finally see it.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08'The doors behind, and only one candle reflected in a mirror
0:25:08 > 0:25:11'that Walters was looking through.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13'Incredible.'
0:25:13 > 0:25:14HE BEATS RHYTHMICALLY
0:25:14 > 0:25:18# Evan Walters Wibble-wobble wibble-wobble... #
0:25:18 > 0:25:20There's a song coming on there, Rolf.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25What I find really spooky and amazing is that back in 1936
0:25:25 > 0:25:29he was recreating something that we now make with electronic media today.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31- Yes.- And he had it right back then.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33- Yes.- That's what's amazing.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38'It's a real Rolf On Welsh Art first.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40'I hope you enjoyed that.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45'Final proof that Walters was truly an artist ahead of his time.'
0:25:47 > 0:25:51I've got to get the double vision of the two little bits here.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Do you want to come round and have a look?
0:26:05 > 0:26:07It's amazing.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09'I've really enjoyed painting my tribute to the talented
0:26:09 > 0:26:13'Evan Walters, and I've had the time of my life at Swansea Market
0:26:13 > 0:26:16'with Carol and her cockles.'
0:26:16 > 0:26:17Oh, well done.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Thank you, thank you so much for this.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22- Thank you, thank you, thank you. - I wasn't ready.
0:26:22 > 0:26:23THEY LAUGH
0:26:23 > 0:26:25That's better.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29'But I must confess I'm finding this tribute painting a tough challenge.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32'I'm not totally happy with my first go at it.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37'I need to get the double vision right and it's not quite working,
0:26:37 > 0:26:42'so I'm heading home to my studio to add some final finishing touches.'
0:26:42 > 0:26:49Well, I've done a lot of changing since I finished in Swansea.
0:26:49 > 0:26:50I've got this double vision thing
0:26:50 > 0:26:53and I've made that a double vision picture
0:26:53 > 0:26:56so that you get the edge of the frame there.
0:26:56 > 0:27:01Then I've taken the two helpers in the background and you can see
0:27:01 > 0:27:07that I've started to move another image of them out here,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11with another hand there and another arm,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14and you get more hair coming out there.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15It's all blurry.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19I must say, I've really enjoyed painting my tribute
0:27:19 > 0:27:21to the great and talented Evan Walters.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24I'm only sad that it's taken so long,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28so many years after his death,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31before the accolades that he so richly deserves
0:27:31 > 0:27:36for his revolutionary art are now finally being heaped upon him.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41I just hope he's up there somewhere looking down on us
0:27:41 > 0:27:45and enjoying my tribute to him, Evan Walters,
0:27:45 > 0:27:52the great working class artist from Llangyfelach, in Swansea.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58It only remains for me to sign it now, and it's all finished.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd