Teeny Tiny Tryouts

Spent the entire day in the print studio here in Rawalpindi, doing some test intaglio prints with Intaglio Printmakers paper drypoint card. I haven’t used it for quite a while and I needed some practice. I worked on some tiny scraps of the card with different sharp tools, incising lines, cross hatching tones and rippingContinue reading “Teeny Tiny Tryouts”

Heads and Heat

I’m in Pakistan at the start of a residency in the Zaira Zaka print studio, working with artists Hannah Lawson from the UK and Zaira Ahmad from Pakistan. More artists will join us later. We went to the Taxilan ruins yesterday, a Buddhist shrine a couple of hours drive away. The weather was lovely; weContinue reading “Heads and Heat”

Messi Moggy

My first blog post in Pakistan just had to be a kitteh. This is Messi who is named after Lionel Messi, the Argentinian footballer who plays for Barcelona. Messi lives in the house where I’m staying. There is also a printmaking studio with accommodation attached for the artists in residence. Yesterday was spent recovering fromContinue reading “Messi Moggy”

They Moved

I’m scribbling in a sandwich shop in Kuwait Airport on my way to Pakistan. I homed in on these two chaps having a snack nearby using a free Markers app on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8. It’s always a risk when you sketch in public that your subject might move. This place does a crackingContinue reading “They Moved”

Going Back

In a few hours I’ll be starting my journey from little Wales to great big Pakistan. It’s a return journey for me; I visited in 2007 and I loved it so much that I’ve always wanted to go back, but life got in the way. So now I’m off to be an artist-in-residence in RawalpindiContinue reading “Going Back”

Little Leftover

Today I packed up an edition of fourteen little lino prints to send to Boise, Idaho, USA to the lovely Wingtip Press for this year’s Leftovers print exchange. The Director, Amy Nack has been organising this for five years now and attracts miniature prints from all over the world. This year’s deadline is April theContinue reading “Little Leftover”

Nearly There

(Above: The Afghan Border from Mitchni Post in the Khyber Pass) Yesterday I made a 300 mile round trip to Birmingham to submit my documents for a visa to Pakistan. I’ve been offered a residency to work with a group of international artists to produce a group show, culminating in an exhibition in Islamabad.  IContinue reading “Nearly There”

Floods, Flan And Folly

Husb and I visited the quirky little town of Llandeilo earlier today. Founded in the 6th century, the town is a higgledy piggledy mix of buildings over the centuries clinging to the hill above the stone road bridge, where I stood facing West, with Paxton’s Folly on the horizon and did a drawing in oilContinue reading “Floods, Flan And Folly”

Finding A Husband

Last week, Husb and I crossed the Shannon River a couple of times on the Tarbert Ferry, connecting County Kerry to Clare. It’s become my favourite ferry. It’s cute. It crosses the Shannon in about 15 minutes, between power stations on each bank. On the Kerry side, in Tarbert, is a fab little cafe inContinue reading “Finding A Husband”

Corvids And Erratics

On our recent trip to Ireland, Husb and I began exploring The Burren in County Clare. We stopped at Doolin Pier to look at the slumped sedimentary rocks in the cliffs and the glacial erratics, massive rocks from far away, dunped on the ground by ancient glaciers.  As I was drawing Husb near one ofContinue reading “Corvids And Erratics”