Category Archives: out and about

Exile

It’s day two of my self-imposed exile from the Galaxy Samsung Tablet and digital drawing. I took my Khadi handmade sketchbook to the beach at twilight with some carbon and chalk. I had prepared the book with a sponge and Indian ink which gives a varied surface on the heavily textured paper. The drawing isn’tContinue reading “Exile”

Dis-Comfort Zone

I’m trying to get away from digital drawing on my Samsung Galaxy Note for a while because I think it’s become my new comfort zone, taking over from my Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens. I soaked a piece of natural sponge in some dilute Indian ink and scrubbed it over quite a few of theContinue reading “Dis-Comfort Zone”

Distortion

I’m doing some drawings from digital photos I took on Swansea Beach recently, to practice drawing detail and movement. Trouble is, when I downloaded the photos onto the computer and made them large enough to draw from, they have a lot of distortion. It’s not a problem, it just looks a bit fuzzy and thereContinue reading “Distortion”

Waiting For Mam

I spent a happy hour puppy sitting the adorable gallery puppies at Galerie Simpson this afternoon. They are two sweet black Patterdale Terriers and when their Mam popped out, they patiently waited for her – before falling asleep. So cute. And very scribblable! I never miss an opportunity for a scribble. It’s interesting drawing differentContinue reading “Waiting For Mam”

Eadweard’s Horses

I rarely work from photographs but I took a series of photos on the beach yesterday and I’m going to use them for sketching for a few days. Drawing directly from life is energising, forces me to focus only on what’s absolutely important in the subject and is good practice but doesn’t give me theContinue reading “Eadweard’s Horses”

A Bit Of Columbian

I was down at Swansea Print Workshop earlier and took some time to scribble the lovely old Columbian printing press. Dating from quite early in Queen Victoria’s reign (1855) this beauty is still in use, even though it’s a little bit wobbly and idiosyncratic. It’s quite complex and I’m right out of my comfort zone,Continue reading “A Bit Of Columbian”

The Red Castle

Husb and I celebrated St. David’s Day today with a quick trip up the Valleys to visit Castell Coch, which is Welsh for the Red Castle. It was packed to the rafters with visitors so I didn’t have much time to draw, just a quick sketch of some of the extraordinary carvings above one ofContinue reading “The Red Castle”

Way Too Cute!

I took my teenage niece with me to do a spot of puppy-sitting yesterday and I also took a drawing board, some beautiful vintage paper – Saunders from the Wooky Hole paper mill in Somerset – and charcoal, compressed and willow. I intended to do some portrait drawing of my niece, but I reckoned withoutContinue reading “Way Too Cute!”

Crowd Control

Standing in a queue is a good opportunity to do some crowd sketching. I like to draw individuals because, to be honest, it’s easier. But I shouldn’t stay in my comfort zone so I did these two crowd sketches when I was standing in a queue yesterday. Drawing in a crowd forces you to bringContinue reading “Crowd Control”