I spent this afternoon at an Open Access session at Swansea Print Workshop, ready to take a first proof from my coffee-lift-spit-bite aluminium etching plate, developed at last weekend’s BIG Etching course with Andrew Baldwin. I chose a soft textured Somerset paper from St. Cuthbert’s Mill and Intaglio Printmaker’s Drypoint Shop Mix etching ink. It’sContinue reading “The First Proof!”
Category Archives: Arty Stuff
Coffee And Spit Bite
More geeky printmaking stuff from last weekend’s B.I.G. Etching course with Andrew Baldwin at Swansea Print Workshop. The aluminium plate was degreased with whiting and soy sauce to get it ready for drawing on with instant coffee solution. I forgot to take a photo of mine being drawn, but Andrew Baldwin has kindly lent meContinue reading “Coffee And Spit Bite”
BIG And Greasy
I spent a happy but exhausting weekend at Swansea Print Workshop on a specialist course in the ‘BIG’ non-toxic etching technique, pioneered and taught by Andrew Baldwin of Trefeglwys Print Studio. Andrew has invented a new etching ‘ground’ and has also experimented with a range of household materials to take the place of someContinue reading “BIG And Greasy”
Developing The Drawing
During last week’s life drawing session at Swansea Print Workshop, I took photos of the development of my portrait head of our model. It shows the drawing in different stages of development. I used conté crayon in white, sanguine and black into an A2 brown paper sketchbook. Please click here if you would likeContinue reading “Developing The Drawing”
Drawing The Environment
The second stone circle at Y Pigwyn on Mynydd Bach Trecastell is a lot more complete than the first, with almost all its stones still in place, although they’re not very big. We took young Nephew with us, he’s a country lad and used to the rough terrain, he found a sheep’s skull, a ram’s horn andContinue reading “Drawing The Environment”
The Mountain’s Challenge
Friday saw another excursion into the bleaker parts of South Wales hunting the wild megalith. The weather forecast predicted sunshine with the occasional shower so I had high hopes for this visit to Mynydd Trecastell / Mynydd Bach to the site called Y Pigwyn which has two Neolithic stone circles and the remains of aContinue reading “The Mountain’s Challenge”
Proofing The Stones
I’m travelling around South West Wales with archaeologist Dewi Bowen who is researching his new book on Neolithic / Bronze Age monuments and I’m drawing the stones as we travel across the – mostly – wild spaces of South Wales. But I’m a printmaker as well as a scribbler and I’m developing ideas for printsContinue reading “Proofing The Stones”
The Tiniest Sketchbook?
I recently went to the Womanspire16 awards organised by the Welsh organisation Chwarae Teg and I took along my new tiny sketchbook. It’s the littlest sketchbook I’ve ever had. I got it in a Xmas cracker quite by chance. You can see the size of it next to my keys – yes I have aContinue reading “The Tiniest Sketchbook?”
Back To Basics
I went back to sketchbook work a few days ago, have done very little for ages, but young nephew was having a sleepover and the following day he was doing competitive ju jitsu and kick boxing so Husb and I went along to watch. It was a great opportunity to sketch figures in motion, somethingContinue reading “Back To Basics”
The Stone In Merlin’s Town
The final drawing from last Friday’s archaeology / art / film excursion around West Wales is of the standing stone in the grounds of Carmarthenshire Museum, a fine old building in lovely ground in Abergwili, just outside the town. I’m afraid I don’t know anything about it, except that it was moved from its originalContinue reading “The Stone In Merlin’s Town”