Husb and I were out and about today, doing some shopping for art supplies at The Range and we stopped for a cuppa. I spotted this woman across the cafe, absorbed in reading and thought I’d have a quick scribble, en plein air, into my very small sketchbook, about 5 inches by 3.5 using a ballpoint pen. Does anyone call them Biros any more? They were always called Biro pens when I was a kid – I think that’s the name of the inventor.
Called into Waterstones bookshop café today, it’s one of my favourite places for sketching en plein air because it’s upstairs with large windows overlooking the busy street which has a couple of benches often full of busy shoppers taking a rest. So I spy on them and draw them while I’m having a cuppa.
I love watching printmaker David Bull on YouTube. This is what is do for fun! Geeking out watching how other printmakers work. I find it so relaxing. It’s a lovely video.
Sparta says, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”.
Mae Sparta yn dweud, “Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda”.
This is a lovely digital drawing of the lovely Sparta Puss by my lovely Husb.
So I’m thinking of doing some more large woodcuts in the new year, inspired by my drawings of the Mari Lwyd and Neolithic stone monuments in South Wales. I’ve done a lot of work on both of these so there’s plenty to inform anything I do. I begin by making little thumbnail sketches, lots of them, trying out different compositions. To me, that’s a primary function of a sketchbook, trying out ideas and establishing a starting point.
Well, I’ve started, but there’s a long, long way to go… If you want to find out more about the Mari Lwyd tradition in Wales please click here. And here’s a short film about my en plein air drawings on Neolithic and Bronze Age sites across South Wales.
I had a quick scribble on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet, just catching a few of the bits and bobs at the bottom of the Christmas tree. It’s a sparkly place….
I finished carving my little lino yesterday evening, with a Mari Lwyd design from an original drawing en plein air. So today, off to Swansea Print Workshop to print it up. I used Caligo / Cranfield Safe Wash Relief ink with a Hosho Japanese paper and some recycled sari silk paper for the chine collé to add flashes of colour. Traditionally, the Mari is decorated with coloured ribbons to contrast with the white skull and shroud.
From left to right: Inking the block; applying the chine collé with Pritt stick glue; rubbing the back of the paper with a traditional Japanese baren.
And finally, a Massive of Mari’s. I don’t know if there’s an official collective noun, but I think Massive is cool.
If you want to read more about the ancient Welsh tradition of the Mari Lwyd, just click here .
And here.
I’ve finished carving my little lino block of a Mari Lwyd and I’m ready to print it, which I can do at Swansea Print Workshop all day tomorrow (Thursday 20th). It’s the last day of the Leftovers VIII international exhibition of miniature prints from Wingtip Press in Idaho, USA. I’ll be there from 10.30 to 4.30 so please pop in and have a look if you’re in town.
I’m carving a block of grey vinyl this evening as I’ve decided to make a New Year’s greeting card, based on the Mari Lwyd, a pagan Welsh ritual based on a horse skull. It’s quite small so I should be able to get it cut and printed quickly. Working on this scale is nice, I can perch it on my lap and listen to the telly while I’m carving. Can’t get too distracted, though, because my cutting tools are razor sharp.
The image is based on a drawing of the Mari Abertawe I did en plein air a while back. The Mari Lwyd comes out to play at this time of year through to mid January.
Sitting in the dark, watching TV, scribbling the cat quickly on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet using a free Markers app. Been visiting relatives most of the day and am stuffed full of home made mince pies. Mmmmmmm …. seasonal food.
