Rosie Scribblah

A Quickie On The Last Day

On our last morning in Bologna yesterday, I rushed over to get a final look at the wonderful Basilica de Sant Steffano and had just a few minutes to do a quick scribble with conté crayons into my A4 brown paper sketchbook.

Home At Last

Home at last and glad to get back to Sparta Puss ….. and our memory foam mattress topper, what a good buy that’s turned out to be. I ended up doing quite a few sketches in Italy, which I will put up tomorrow, here’s one of a rather Byzantine Christ on a church ceiling inContinue reading “Home At Last”

Teeny Tiny Cherub

Husb and I have moved on to Bologna from Florence, being culture vultures and taking in loads of fabulous places with our guide, Andrew Spira. I stopped to draw this teeny tiny head of a cherub, but had to rush on to discover more exhibits before I could finish it. Still, that’s what a sketchbookContinue reading “Teeny Tiny Cherub”

Another Cadaver

Here’s another drawing from the museum of natural science in Florence, from the exhibition of exquisitely made wax cadavers. They are quite gruesome to draw, partly because they have been given very lifelike glass eyes. This example shows the main veins and arteries.

Deathlike

I’m having a break in Florence for a few days and although I brought my sketchbook with me, I wasn’t planning on doing much drawing unless something really inspired me. It turned out to be a cadaver. Sometimes I worry about me. We went with our excellent guide, Andrew, to the La Specola Museum ofContinue reading “Deathlike”

Don’t Bother With The Tipsy Tower

If you visit Pisa in Italy, my advice is don’t bother with the tipsy tower, too full of tourists, but go instead to the fascinating Museum of Calculation Devices, which displays the history of early calculators and computers. It is awesome. But avoid the toilets. Easily the worst public toilet I have visited in Europe.Continue reading “Don’t Bother With The Tipsy Tower”

Taking a break.

Taking a break. Pisa today. There is a wonky tower there.

Firenze

Just taking a break for a few days, soaking up the art and sunshine of Florence.

It’s All A Bit Zen.

The carving begins! The final drawing has been transferred in reverse onto the MDF block in compressed charcoal. Then I redrew everything with a brush and walnut ink. And now I’m cutting. After all the rush and stress of the past few weeks, it feels a bit Zen to quietly carve into the wood,Continue reading “It’s All A Bit Zen.”

Getting On With It

I’m on the last leg now with “Here Be Dragons”, my commission for Sky Arts, getting my final design transferred into a large sheet of MDF. I’m back in my studio at home, with Helen Finney’s portrait of me looking down as I work. I transferred it using detail paper, that had a tracingContinue reading “Getting On With It”