Drawing the Mari Ystrad at Gellionen Chapel yesterday was a much more peaceful experience than drawing the Mari Trecopwr around the pubs of North Gower a couple of weeks ago and I had the chance to take my time, observe and record at leisure. I finally drew the full figure – the Mari’s skull atopContinue reading “A Thin Veil”
Category Archives: out and about
Singing In The Chapel!!!!
Anyone who knows Husb and me knows that we’re a pair of unrepentant godless heathen. And would be very surprised that we went to chapel today! A gorgeous Unitarian chapel up on Gellionen Mountain, completely deserted and shrouded in this morning’s thick fog. The lovely wood-lined interior was decorated with holly and ivy and thereContinue reading “Singing In The Chapel!!!!”
The Mari And The Libbers
This is the last of my recent sketchbook drawings made over two evenings following the Mari Lwyd around pubs in North Gower. The last pub we went to (I won’t identify it) I hadn’t been into since way back in the 1970’s. It was one of the few pubs remaining in the area with aContinue reading “The Mari And The Libbers”
The Pagan Skull
Another of my Mari Lwyd drawings from last week. The Mary Lwyd (Y Fari Lwyd in Welsh) is an old midwinter tradition in Wales where for centuries a puppet made from a horse’s skull, decorated with ribbons and bells was accompanied around villages with singers and poets, knocking on doors of houses and pubs, engagingContinue reading “The Pagan Skull”
Midwinter Mare
For the second night, Husb and I went out with the Mari Lwyd, trawling around pubs on North Gower with the Gower Old Horse Wassail. Midwinter celebrations date from thousands of years ago and ones involving animal skulls are common across the world. Horses were particularly important to the British Celts, a symbol ofContinue reading “Midwinter Mare”
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda – Happy New Year
The Mari Lwyd (the Grey Mare), is an ancient Welsh New Year’s tradition undergoing a revival. Husb and I have been out with our local Mari Lwyd, The Coppertown Mari, Mari Trecopr, for the past two nights as it, along with a band of merry singers, poets and mischief-makers, did a tour of some ofContinue reading “Blwyddyn Newydd Dda – Happy New Year”
Walking It Off
After 2 days of scoffing and lazing, no work, no art, husb and I shifted our behinds off the comfy settee, dragged ourselves out into the cold and started walking off the sluggishness of the holiday. I took my brown paper sketchbook and some conté crayons and did a quick sketch across Swansea Bay. It’sContinue reading “Walking It Off”
Salamis
On our last day in Northern Cyprus, Husb and I took off on a day trip and one of the places we visited is Salamis, an ancient site dating from the Late Bronze Age, although the majority of the visible ruins are Roman. I did a quick scribble but I don’t feel particularly happy withContinue reading “Salamis”
The Five Fingered Peak
On our last day in idyllic Northern Cyprus (Kuzey Kibris), Husb and I went on a day trip from Kyrenia (Girne) across to the eastern coastal town, Famagusta (Gazimağusa), a fascinating dip into the geology, history and culture of the country. On our way back, heading north over the Kyrenia Mountains as the sun wasContinue reading “The Five Fingered Peak”
Jagged Peaks
I didn’t do much sketching when I was in Cyprus last week because I wanted a break from work, but I pulled out my sketchbook and conté crayons a few times when the mood took me. The Kyrenian Mountain range is spectacular, separating the north coast beaches from the flat inland areas. The sharp roughContinue reading “Jagged Peaks”
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