Different Direction

I spent April this year in Pakistan, on an artist residency. It’s taken a few months for me to make sense of the experience. It’s so different to my everyday life in Wales and the art that has been developing out of it has been very different too. I normally work with the human form,Continue reading “Different Direction”

Staying In

After helping out with painting walls at the new Workers’ Gallery in Ynyshir yesterday, today was much more restful. The clocks went back last night so we had a rare lie-in this morning and a lazy day, clearing the last of the runner beans off the allotment – we picked a carrier bag full! GuessContinue reading “Staying In”

Up The Workers

I spent a happy day in the Rhondda village of Ynyshir, helping to paint the walls of the village’s new artspace, The Workers’ Gallery. Artists Gayle Rogers and Chris Williams are renovating the village’s old library and will be opening Wales’ newest art gallery next month. I nipped outside and stood in the drizzle, havingContinue reading “Up The Workers”

A Head In Lines

Here’s another digital study I did at this week’s life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop. I took a different approach with this one and concentrated on line rather than tone. I did this on my Samsung Galaxy Tablet Note 8 using the free Markers app and drew with the smart stylus.

Smudgy Finger

Just back from life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop. I concentrated on portraiture this evening. I used my Samsung Galaxy Tablet Note 8 with the free Markers app and used my finger for this study rather than the stylus. It gives a much softer and smudgier effect. I built the drawing by overlaying tones ontoContinue reading “Smudgy Finger”

In The Beginning

  I’ve been invited to take part in a collaboration between artists in Swansea and across the meltwater in North Devon. I’m starting to plan a new piece of work for it, probably an installation in cyanotype if it works out. I’m beginning with some sketching en plein air so today I took a walkContinue reading “In The Beginning”

Ethereal Ghosts

This is the last of the four monotypes I made on one day last week. The effort nearly killed me! I’m not young anymore. Anyway, this is the one I’m least happy with. I think it’s because I thought too much about it and tried to do too much detail. I was much freer withContinue reading “Ethereal Ghosts”

Walnut Husk Ink Revisited

UPDATE: It’s been about a year since I wrote this post when I made a batch of walnut ink. I’ve been using it regularly and it’s delicious, silky, smooth and rich. It seems to be lightfast, no signs of fading on any of the pieces, although I’ve been careful to use best quality acid-free paperContinue reading “Walnut Husk Ink Revisited”

It’s Physical

Carrying on with the small full-colour monotypes that I did a few days ago. It was hard work being on my feet for hours on end. The lightbox is too high to sit down to work into the plates and I prefer to stand anyway; it’s a physical thing and I think my mark-making isContinue reading “It’s Physical”