When I tell people that I go out regularly drawing en plein air, a common reaction is, “Oh how lovely! Tripping about the countryside in the sunshine doing some nice little drawings“. OH! I! WISH! Here’s the reality. A photo of the minimum kit I need for my forays into the wild places of South WalesContinue reading “Oh I Wish!”
Category Archives: Travel drawings
Mountain Memorial
Here’s another drawing I did en plein air up the Rhondda Valley last week. We stopped at a viewing place called Carn Eiddil and walked to the top of a pile of large rocks to look down the valley dropping away sharply beneath and there on the slope were loads of tiny memorials. They’re mostlyContinue reading “Mountain Memorial”
Walnuts And Gesso
This is the third drawing I did at Maen Ceti / Arthur’s Stone at Cefn Bryn on the Gower Peninsula this week. I used a piece of Fabriano paper that I had prepared with two coats of textured acrylic gesso. When it was dry, I sponged some of my home-made walnut ink over it. TheContinue reading “Walnuts And Gesso”
Stratification
I was at Cefn Bryn on the Gower Peninsula yesterday, drawing at Arthur’s Stone – Maen Ceti in Welsh. It’s a Neolithic burial chamber surrounded by cairns, truly an ancient landscape of the dead. It’s a very popular site and I’ve drawn it many times, so it’s hard to come up with a newContinue reading “Stratification”
Arthur’s Stone
Went hunting wild megaliths today, this time to Arthur’s Stone, Maen Ceti, a Bronze Age burial chamber on the Gower Peninsula. And now I’m tired ……….. Goodnight 😀
Up The Rhondda
Travelling on the A4233 up the Rhondda Valley between Maerdy and Aberdare, there are a lot of viewing stops that are great for a quick scribble. It was quick too, as we were high up and it was cold and windy as well as bright and sunny. I keep to a restricted pallette of black,Continue reading “Up The Rhondda”
Pressure And Strokes
Another quick sketch from Swansea Bay yesterday with conté crayons into my A4 brown paper sketchbook. I concentrated on capturing a sense of the atmosphere, rather than fine detail. I limit myself to three colours, white, sanguine and black, so different tones have to be achieved by varying the pressure on the conté sticks and overlayingContinue reading “Pressure And Strokes”
Baseball Bat And Chips
Husb and I took a road trip up some of the South Wales valleys today, calling in at the new Studio 18 gallery in Pontycymer owned by artist Kevin Sinnott, a fabulous artspace filled with gorgeous art; paintings, etchings, drawings, well worth a visit. Then over the mountain to The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir toContinue reading “Baseball Bat And Chips”
Vikings, Lepers and Wild Flowers
I went out drawing with a prehistorian and a filmmaker yesterday, down to the little church in the village of Llanrhidian on The Gower Peninsula. There’s an enormous carved stone in the church porch, The Leper Stone, fairly modern, only about twelve hundred years old. Of course, I had to scribble it. I drew withContinue reading “Vikings, Lepers and Wild Flowers”
Priapus And Placentas
Back on the trail of ancient megaliths with prehistorian Dewi Bowen and filmmaker Melvyn Williams, with my portable drawing board, a folder full of prepared papers and a satchel of drawing materials. We headed out to the Gower Peninsula and pitched up at this magnificent large stone near Weobley Castle. Called Samson’s Jack, or Mansel’sContinue reading “Priapus And Placentas”
scribblah 