Three Sketchbooks: One Ink: Naphthol Crimson

I’m preparing some of my sketchbooks with Liquitex ink because I fancy doing some sketching onto coloured backgrounds for a while. I have three very different sketchbooks. The hand-made one (beautifully made by a friend) prepared with clear textured gesso. The small very heavyweight Khadi one, prepared with smooth white gesso. And the large, square-format Khadi, which is a lighter weight than the small one. This time I used Naphthol Crimson. The effects are so different across the three books – the large Khadi is almost suggesting an image without anything else done to it. I love the way the translucent ink allows the text and images to show through in the handmade book.

I have an exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment. Come and have a look if you’re in the area.

A Deep Clean

Swansea Print Workshop is shutting down for a couple of months for some badly-needed renovations and we’re all pulling together to get things packed and stored before the building work starts. I did a deep clean on some of the rollers (brayers) the other day. I enjoyed it. Does that make me sound like I have a sad life? 😀

I have an exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment. Come and have a look if you’re in the area.

#Caturday Archives: 60

It’s back to January 2018 for this week’s #Caturday sketchbook archive, an ink drawing of our Little Ming, the one-eyed fluffy tortoiseshell. She’s in her favourite place, on top of the boiler in the window next to the kettle. Plenty of sources of warmth for her.

I have an exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment. Come and have a look if you’re in the area.

Sketchbook Archives: 69

February 2017 and I’m still in the drawing-portraits-on-brown-paper phase. I used black, brown and sanguine conté crayons and graphite. I’m not sure why I stopped – I really like the effect. Maybe that’s why, maybe it was becoming too easy and I’m a glutton for punishment 🙂

I have an exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment. Come and have a look if you’re in the area.

The Guitarist

Here’s a quick scribble at our local venue “Down By Here” (previously Elysium Bar). I can’t remember the band; I get so absorbed in sketching that I often forget to write down details like band names. I find it difficult to draw people with musical instruments as you have to deal with perspective and proportion not only of the person but also what they’re holding, while they’re moving around! It’s good practice.

I have an exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment. Come and have a look if you’re in the area.

More Crazy Hair…

I went to a concert in the summer at Llangiwg Church and Y Pregethwr did an amazing performance in the Welsh language. He sings passages from the Book of Ecclesiastes in Cymraeg accompanied by a harmonium. He has wild hair so I sketched him.

I have a new exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment.

Crazy Hair…

Sometimes I’m lucky enough to sit behind someone with fantastically crazy hair when I have a sketchbook on me. It’s so much fun to play with mark-making and different textures when I’m drawing hair like this. I used a Derwent graphite pencil – HB.

I have a new exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment.

Foot-tapping At The Gig

Here’s a quick scribble at our local venue “Down By Here” (previously Elysium Bar). I can’t remember the band but this guy was tapping his feet to the music in a snazzy shirt so I scribbled him.

I have a new exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment.

Experimenting With Lino: The Forest

I’m trying out something new, experimenting with lino, drawing on sketches I made a couple of years ago on a residency I did in rural Germany. I spent a week or so in a medieval village in a forest and the work I did there was completely different to anything I’ve done before…please click here to see more.

I have a new exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment.

#Caturday Archives: 59

One from January 2018 for this week’s #Caturday Saturday, a sketch of Sparta Puss in a free Markers app on my (now old) Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

I have a new exhibition, “Carved Heads And Other Creatures”, part of MANIFEST at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir. The show runs until October 31st. Open Saturdays 10.00 – 17.00, other times by appointment.