Force of Nature 2

West Pier 2

Here’s another sketch I did at Swansea’s wrecked West Pier yesterday. Storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge managed to destroy it and the sand dunes have now started leaching into the mouth of the River Tawe …. who knows what will happen? There used to be an island out there centuries ago. Legend has it that Vikings landed there under the leadership of Sven and the island was called Sven’s Ey (Island); the name morphed over time into Swansea. The Welsh name for our city is Abertawe – the mouth of the River Tawe.

Force of Nature 1

West Pier 1

Husb and I took a stroll along the beach this afternoon to the West Pier at the mouth of the River Tawe. It was recently badly damaged during the triumvirate of storms – Ciara, Denis and Jorge and it’s shocking how nature has ripped huge amounts of concrete apart and splintered vast wooden piles like matchsticks. A massive amount of sand dune has been eroded as well, creating a stretch of new sandy cliff face and dumping tons of sand into the river mouth. This drawing, in conte crayons (black and sanguine) with water rubbed on with  my finger, reminds me of drawings I’ve seen of the Swansea blitz.

 

 

#Caturday

sunlight

It’s #Caturday! Here’s a #Cat. In the sunlight.

That’s How I Roll

bedwyr williams

So I went to the Glynn Vivian art gallery this evening for a talk by the artist Bedwyr Williams. I sat at the back because there was a light on there in the otherwise dark room and I though “Ah, I can use that light to draw into my small but perfectly formed sketchbook.” Just as I started a scribble, the artist asked for the light to be turned off so I was left in pitch darkness. But I carried on drawing. Because that’s how I roll.

 

Hats Indoors

elysium 110320 small

This is getting to be a recurring theme, with the cold and very wet winter and I suspect, commercial premises turning the heating down a degree or two. Here are two of the people listening to artist talks at the Elysium Gallery and Bar this evening, given by Mark Folds and Bourdon Brindille. They were discussing their current exhibitions, “Crises” and “Breakage and Repair”, both excellent, clever, well made, interesting and with a bit of humour. The shows run until April 18th and are worth a look if you’re in Swansea. The Gallery bar and cafe also serves hot food, home cooked and really tasty.

Woodcut in the bog

This is a great visual blog from artist Patti McKenna Jones

pattimcjones's avatarPATRICRAFT

One of the ‘bloody women’ I’m paying tribute to in the upcoming exhibition at Cinema & Co Swansea is Andrea Levy. I was impressed and depressed by her novel ‘Small Island’ (about the unbelievable levels of discrimination meted out to the Windrush despite them being invited to live in the UK after WW2) when I read it 10 years ago. She admitted to developing a flinty bloody- mindedness in order to get published in her final interview -released on R4 recently & really worth a listen. Here is the woodcut of her beautiful face in progress but you’ll have to pop into the toilet in C&Co to see the finished print….

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Art In The Bogs

Pat

 

The new BOGART exhibition is up at Swansea’s Cinema & Co. Patti McKenna Jones and I are installing regular art shows in the cinema’s rather nice toilets – it’s very democratic, everyone needs to wee.

 

 

It’s part of the International Womens Day celebration that includes a new exhibition in the main cinema by artists Esther Ley and Sally Davies. It opens on Thursday night with a free programme of films and music and loads of free home made CAKE from 5.30 to 7.30. It’s followed by the Feminista Film Festival (tickets here) from 7.30 to 9.30. Come and join us xx

 

IWD

Left to right: Sally Davies, Patti McKenna Jones, Rosie Scribblah, Esther Ley.

Natty Handle

anger

 

Another little lino block cut and ready for action. I’ve got a natty stamp handle to glue it onto as well. I bought it on a trip to the Modulor store in Berlin a couple of years ago.

A Cuppa And A Read

waterstones 8

 

Here’s another couple of quick sketches I did in Waterstone’s bookshop cafe in Swansea. It’s very quiet there because most people have bought books and then pop up to the cafe for a cuppa and a read. It’s lovely. I drew with a ballpoint pen into my tiny Laura Ashley sketchbook. I’ve put it against a 50p piece for scale.

 

waterstones

 

It’s a beautiful building, the former Carlton cinema and I sat under the dome to take this photo.

 

Hats Indoors

waterstones 9

Stopped for a cup of tea in the lovely cafe in Waterstones bookshop in Swansea and had a quick scribble. Two young women wearing woolly hats indoors. They won’t feel the benefit when they go out into the cold, as my Nana used to say.