A Bit At A Time…

I’ve made a start on my next Mari Lwyd lino block, but instead of carving straight onto the full size block, I’m trying out different bits of the design on smaller lino blocks, to see how they work out. First up, is the Mari’s eyeball, quite a mischievous eye, but some find her quite sinister.

Sketchbook Archives: 26

Piggies! This fine beast is from my blog in April 2013. I visited a farm and drew some Mangalitza pigs. I really liked my sketch of the boar and turned it into a little lino cut.

Transfer To Lino…

I traced my Mari Lwyd sketch onto tracing paper today, flipped it over and drew it onto my lino block, like we used to do with maps back in my schooldays, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. It’s a very basic outline, I’ve got to do some studies of the bells and ribbons, flowers and eyeballsContinue reading “Transfer To Lino…”

Ribbons And Bells: 1

I did a rough yesterday in monochrome washes of a new thing I’m working on which will eventually be a lino cut based on sketches of some of the Mari Lwyd / Hen Galan celebrations I’ve been to over the past few winters. I like the overall composition but it’s very rough, so I’m startingContinue reading “Ribbons And Bells: 1”

Starting Something New…

This is the first sketch, trying out an idea for a new linocut based on the Welsh Mari Lwyd tradition. I like the format, 21cms x 42cms, and I like this composition. I’ll probably try out a few more variations and I want to sharpen up some of the design stuff, like the ribbons andContinue reading “Starting Something New…”

#Caturday Silhouette 12.

This #Caturday Saturday, here the silhouette of little rescue cat Bill on top of a silkscreen print based on sketches of pigeons in Swansea. I merged the drawings with some text I had written about the experience of drawing the pigeons, watching them from the window of Waterstone’s cafe, that used to be the oldContinue reading “#Caturday Silhouette 12.”

#Caturday Silhouette 11.

This #Caturday Saturday, here is my silhouette of little rescue cat Bill on top of a silkscreen print I did a few years back, based on a series of sketches I made of pigeons in Swansea. I like pigeons. I merged the drawings with some text I had written about the experience of drawing theContinue reading “#Caturday Silhouette 11.”

And Finally…Mari Lwyd!

I had a couple of difficult months leading up to and just after Xmas with some of the seasonal viruses going around, so my annual Mari Lwyd print was put on hold for a while. I finally caught up with myself this week and printed my little Mari Lwyd lino blocks with foil chine collé.Continue reading “And Finally…Mari Lwyd!”

Sketchbook Archives: 20

I’ve reached November 2012 in my sketchbook archives, just over a year since I started this blog to put my sketches out there into the world. It’s difficult to show sketchbooks, yet they underpin the work of many artists. This month it was mostly people with a few crows – I think they were crowsContinue reading “Sketchbook Archives: 20”

Sketchbook Archives: 19

Some more archive sketches from October 2012, out and about with architecture, people and pigeons. I like pigeons, they’re happy and chubby little creatures. Not easy to draw though because they fidget so much. It was only 11 years ago but we have far more seagulls in the city now and far fewer pigeons. IContinue reading “Sketchbook Archives: 19”