The Oakley Slate Quarry at Blaenau Festiniog, Merionethshire

Macdonald's watercolour technique renders the scene in muted tones, with sharp lines delineating the quarry's excavation amidst softer, mixed brown and green hills and a serene, cloudy sky, emphasizing the interplay between human intervention and nature.

Created under the Recording Britain project (funded by the Pilgrim Trust and directed by Sir Kenneth Clark during WWII), this piece aimed to preserve a record of threatened British landscapes and support artists amidst wartime uncertainty.

Part of a broader wartime initiative to document vulnerable aspects of the British landscape, the painting reflects concerns over destruction and change, while also capturing a specific moment in the coexistence of industry and rural life in Wales.