I’ve been travelling around South West Wales with archaeologist Dewi Bowen and film maker Melvyn Williams, searching out ancient standing stones linked with the ancient Welsh legends in the book of the Mabinogion. When I started I just took along a sketchbook and some pieces of paper without much idea of how to approach drawingContinue reading “Prepping”
Category Archives: out and about
Just Another Stone In The Wall
Here’s a quick video of me out drawing recently, one of the standing stones I’ve been visiting this year on a mission to draw many of the ancestral monuments on the Trail of the Boar Hunt (Y Twrch Trwyth), an ancient Welsh legend from The Mabinogion. It’s an unusual stone in a wall at YsbytyContinue reading “Just Another Stone In The Wall”
Stones On Show
My very first solo show is coming up in September in the fabulous Workers Gallery in Ynyshir in the Rhondda Valley. Check out the details here. I have spent the past few months travelling across South Wales with Rhondda-born archaeologist Dewi Bowen and Swansea film maker Melvyn Williams, hunting the wild megalith, accompanied by my portable drawingContinue reading “Stones On Show”
Devil’s Bridge
Hunting wild megaliths in West Wales last week, we took a detour to Devil’s Bridge in Ceredigion, near Aberystwyth.It’s an extraordinary gorge – at the top, three separate bridges are stacked on top of one another. The most recent is an iron bridge from 1901, under this is one from 1753 and under that, theContinue reading “Devil’s Bridge”
Drawing In The Street
I went down to the picket line outside the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea yesterday, partly to show my support for the strikers, partly to get some sketchbook practice. I worked into my A5 leatherbound sketchbook with a Faber Castell Pitt drawing pen, size S. I started with a very quick sketch, just a fewContinue reading “Drawing In The Street”
On The Picket Line
“Staff at all sites across National Museum Wales have been out on continuous strike action for over two weeks now, following a dispute of over 2 years about a cut of 15% to the take home pay of the lowest paid for their weekend work – while senior managers face no cuts at all. TheContinue reading “On The Picket Line”
The Stone In The Wall
Another standing stone on our hunt for the wild megalith. We tracked this one down, along with it’s companion (blogged yesterday) in a wall around a Christian church in Ysbyty Cynfyn near Devil’s Bridge, Ceredigion. It’s looks like it’s a Bronze Age site that has been Christianised. The word Ysbyty is Welsh for Hospital andContinue reading “The Stone In The Wall”
Fish And Chips And A Hot Bath
A full day today hunting the wild megalith across West Wales. For the first time it’s been hot and dry. Two weeks ago we struggled against hail and gales, today I roasted! We headed out towards Aberystwyth on the Trail of the Boar, Y Twrch Trwyth, a route suggested by The Mabinogion. It’s been aContinue reading “Fish And Chips And A Hot Bath”
Rhubarb At The Castle
Too warm for me today, temperature around 21 Celsius, so Husb and I didn’t get down to the allotment until about 4pm, when it was staring to cool off a bit and I could do a load of digging without flaking out. Our allotment is on a site sandwiched between two woodland glades and rightContinue reading “Rhubarb At The Castle”
Copper And Stone
I etched two plates at the recent course at Swansea Print Workshop with Andrew Baldwin of Trefeglwys Print Studio, one aluminium, one copper. I’ve just done a first proof from the copper plate. I used a hardground and the traditional technique of drawing into it with an etching needle than adding aquatint. Andrew demonstrated howContinue reading “Copper And Stone”