Category Archives: sketching

Eryri: 3

I live in a very rainy country, but rarely represent the rain in my sketching …. because it’s miserable to stand in the rain and draw! And not very practical – paper gets soggy, colours run or slip around. That can be interesting, but it’s a lot of physical discomfort. So the journey on theContinue reading “Eryri: 3”

Eryri: 2.

Waking up to torrential rain and gale force winds on our short break to North Wales, Husb and I decided to ditch the planned walk along mountain paths and opt for a steam train ride from Caernarfon up the mountains to the legendary village of Beddgelert. It was pouring and windy outside but we wereContinue reading “Eryri: 2.”

Eryri: 1.

I took a blog break for a few days while Husb and I visited North Wales / Cymru Gogledd, such a gorgeous part of the country. The weather, however, wasn’t gorgeous, it poured with rain most of the days we were there. The upside is that the atmosphere was amazing, soft and smudgy, almost butContinue reading “Eryri: 1.”

Mari Lwyd – A Short Film.

Here’s a 1 minute film of some of my drawings of Mari Lwyds. I drew them en plein air at various Mari Lwyd “Meets” across South Wales, mostly before the Covid19 lockdown. The “Meets” are slowly returning and I’m looking forward to being out and about with them again in the coming Midwinter and NewContinue reading “Mari Lwyd – A Short Film.”

Save Kilvey Hill.

Husb and I went to a demonstration this evening, to protest against the plans to erect a “Skyline” zipwire complex on Swansea’s iconic Kilvey Hill. When I was a kid, the hill was completely black, not a thing grew there, it was dead, killed by the Industrial Revolution. Then in the early 1960s, Swansea UniversityContinue reading “Save Kilvey Hill.”

A Palace Of Organs Up The Rhondda.

Husb and I had a great visit to the little village of Ynyshir in the Rhondda Valley last Saturday. First we visited the Workers Gallery, to catch the end of the drawing workshop by internationally renowned documentary photographer David Hurn. Then we adjourned to the next street, to an old converted chapel, to listen toContinue reading “A Palace Of Organs Up The Rhondda.”

Two Legends In A Valley Village.

Husb and I went to a fantastic event in the Rhondda Valley village of Ynyshir this afternoon, organised by the wonderful Workers Gallery which is currently showing an exhibition of rarely seen work by the renowned photographer David Hurn. And today they organised a conversation and Q&A session between David and the renowned actor MichaelContinue reading “Two Legends In A Valley Village.”

Weirdness Up A Mountain.

Husb and I took a walk up the mountain Llyn y Fan on the Bank Holiday to visit the smaller of the mountain lakes, Llyn y Fan Fach. I took some sheets of Somerset paper that I’d prepared in advance. This sheet was primed with white acrylic gesso, than brushed roughly with my home madeContinue reading “Weirdness Up A Mountain.”

To The Legendary Lake: 1.

It’s August Bank Holiday and of course, the weather was pretty miserable, overcast and drizzly, but reasonably warm. Husb and I were at a loose end and I’ve always wanted to walk up to the mythological lake Llyn y Fan Fach in the Bannau Brycheiniog. The lake is the site of one of Wales’ mostContinue reading “To The Legendary Lake: 1.”