Skeletons I Have Known [1].

  People who’ve read my blog before will know that I share my studio with a skeleton, a lady called Felicity. But I’ve drawn other skeletons too. This one, nicknamed Fred Skelly, was the subject of many drawings during a life drawing course at Gorseinon College. He was once a man – smaller pelvis, shorterContinue reading “Skeletons I Have Known [1].”

All Day at the Print Studio.

  Very busy day today at the printmaking studio in Swansea. Made two full-colour monotypes, plus two ‘ghosts’. Have been on my feet for 7.5 hours and I’m shattered, but reasonably happy with the results. I based the monotypes on drawings made from life with a professional model. The prints are made in oil-based pigmentContinue reading “All Day at the Print Studio.”

Scribbling the Scribblers.

  Sometimes at life drawing group I get a bit bored drawing the model and I take a look at the rest of the room and draw the drawers. They’re usually as still as the model, deep in concentration which maked them relatively easy to draw. This is done in Faber Castell Pitt ink pensContinue reading “Scribbling the Scribblers.”

Japanese Barens [artgeeky stuff]

When I visited the International Print Fair in New York City a couple of years ago, I went to a demonstration of Japanese woodblock printing by the artist Takiyi Hamanake [I hope I spelled that right]. It’s a different way of printing; instead of rollering oil-based ink onto the cut block, you brush glue ontoContinue reading “Japanese Barens [artgeeky stuff]”

High Speed Life Drawings

Drawing at high speed can give us really vibrant and exciting images which are even better if they’re overlaid on the same paper. For this exercise I used A1 sugar paper and a handful of coloured chalky pastels. The model went into a sequence of 2-minute poses, five in all and I used a differentContinue reading “High Speed Life Drawings”

Speed Scribbling!

There’s always a temptation when you’re working with a model to make the most of the time you have and launch straight in to a formal detailed drawing but sometimes it pays to try out some quick scribbles first, putting the models in a variety of poses and making some very small, scribbled sketches. AContinue reading “Speed Scribbling!”

A Monumental Man

Life drawing was a regular item on the curriculum when I was at Art College and I’ve kept practicing, going to local groups and classes for many years now. It’s good to work with different models and to be inspired by the techniques of artists in the group and I link the life drawing toContinue reading “A Monumental Man”

Vibrations of the Bauhaus.

  This is a rare drawing of my usually nude model with clothes on, relaxing and reading. I drew this pose onto very large paper using rough chalky pastels and colour ink wash in a very limited palette of red and green, which are complementary colours on Itten’s colour circle. This sets up a tensionContinue reading “Vibrations of the Bauhaus.”

A Dragon Kimono

Sometimes in the life drawing group we draw the models with their clothes on, just for a change. Some of our models are quite flamboyant characters and have some intriguing clothes with them. This model had a fabulous kimono with a Dragon and flowers embroidered all over it. Here she is with the robe inContinue reading “A Dragon Kimono”

In Praise Of The Older Man

I deplore the ageism that seems endemic in British culture and I address this in my art by using elder models in a lot of my work. We have two brilliant elder models in our life drawing group in Swansea, one male, one female, who are both retired professionals and art lovers. They’ve been modellingContinue reading “In Praise Of The Older Man”