scribblah

In Praise Of Rhubarb

It’s rhubarb season and I made the first rhubarb crumble of the year a few days ago. It’s Husb’s favourite crumble and didn’t last long. It’s been around in Europe since the 14th century and it’s popular in gardens and allotments as well as being grown commercially where it’s often forced, especially in the Rhubarb Triangle and gathered by candlelight in the dark sheds. Rhubarb root can be made into a dye similar to walnut ink. I’ll have to give it a go! I did this drawing in a small sketchbook some time ago, using Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens and a block of graphite.

I have put my series of drawings en plein air of ancient Welsh monuments on Artfinder. If you want to see more, please click on the image below or the Artfinder link at the top right of this page. This one is the legendary grave of Saint Elfys (Elvis) in Pembrokeshire, not for from the Presceli Mountains. Elfys? Presceli? Elvis Presley? Coincidence? hhhmmmm

Visitors And Welsh Cakes

Had a busy day with lots of visitors so I made a batch of Welsh cakes and served them warm off the griddle. In The Welsh language they are called “picau ar y maen”. Maen means a stone and in ancient times before iron was smelted, a bakestone would be used to cook flat breads and cakes. They’re still in use now. I was given mine as a present way back in the 1970s. Here’s a little drawing I did of them.

Drawing In The Dark

Just back from the cinema with Husb, we went to see Their Finest, a lovey film, funny, warm and you’ll need a hankie. I had a scribble, of course, but in the dark. I could make out shapes of heads but couldn’t see the sketchbook. Frustrating.It’s good practice though, even if the result looks like a spider had done the Charleston all over it with inky feet.

But Is It Art?

But is it art? No, it’s rhubarb crumble.

I just made it. I picked the rhubarb yesterday in the garden. Husb says it’s a thing of beauty. Then he ate it. With lashings of custard. Then he had seconds. Didn’t last long.

The Scruffy Little Model

It was a really nice day today, not too warm, dry and perfect to get down to the allotment to make an early start on the Spring clearance and planting. The same thing happens every year, I say I’ll break myself in and do an hour at a time and work my way up but no, I did four and a half hours of digging, weeding, planting and hedge trimming straight off. And then got home and crashed on the settee. And didn’t do any art. So I grabbed my sketchbook and scribbled Little Ming who is asleep on the pouffé. She’s getting on a bit, she’s sixteen now but she’s always been a scruffy little thing.

As we walked across the park by the Castle to the allotment site, I noticed a swathe of bright yellow celandine and gleaming white wild garlic (Ramsons) tumbling down the grassy bank. I love the Spring.

Fierce Foreshortening

I try to get along to life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop as often as I can, usually manage every couple of weeks. This week I sat in a position that threw the model’s foot out at me, giving some fierce foreshortening. It’s really good practice; drawing underpins all the art I make, I need to keep my skills sharp so that I have the confidence to experiment and take risks when I want to.

I started out with white conté crayon onto brown wrapping paper, to block in some basic highlights, then added mid-tones with sanguine and finally the darkest tones and detailed line in black.

Big Stone, Little Stone

This is the final drawing I made on my megalith hunt on the north Gower Peninsula on Wednesday, travelling with prehistorian Dewi Bowen and filmmaker Melvyn Williams. The peaceful village green boasts two standing stones, two pubs and a Norman church, as well as spectacular views over the north Gower coast. The large conglomerate Upper Stone had been Christianised in the past into a wheel-shaped Celtic cross which was then broken. The Lower Stone was erected in its present spot in 1846 after it was found lying nearby.

I have put my series of drawings of ancient Welsh monuments on Artfinder. If you want to see more, please click on the image below or the Artfinder link at the top right of this page. This one is the legendary grave of Saint Elfys (Elvis) in Pembrokeshire, not for from the Prescelli Mountains. Elfys? Prescelli? Elvis Presley? Coincidence? hhhmmmm

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 with white, sanguine and black conté crayon onto a piece of paper prepared with my home-made walnut ink. The stone might be Viking, or it might be Irish.

The churchyard was awash with beautiful wild flowers, primrose (primula vulgaris), celandine (ficaria verna), daisy (bellis perennis), dandelion (taraxacum officinale) and lady’s smock (cardamine pratensis). It made a change from deep, thick mud.

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’s Jack, Dewi described it as “big and priapic” but pointed out that some of its priapic features are now hidden by a thick hedge and barbed wire fence. I found a vantage point to draw from and stepped back into something very squelchy. I’m used to squelchy because the Welsh countryside is covered in many and varied manures rendered squelchy by constant rain, but this was a new variety of squelchiness, it was sheep placenta. There was a lot of it around because the field was home to lots of heavily pregnant and birthing sheep and tiny newborn lambs. I carried on drawing. I’m not put off by squelch and did this drawing with conté crayons and Daler Rowney artist quality soft pastels.

Proper Old School

I dropped by the studio of fellow artist Carys Evans today and we talked about how we work from drawings and preparatory sketches of models – proper old school. I don’t often paint but I have a go now and again and here’s one I made a start on a while back. The original drawing was done in my sketchbook at a life drawing session at Swansea Print Workshop and I’ve finished transferring the image using a thin black oil wash onto a canvas sheet that I’d tinted with a sepia-ish colour. I suppose I’d better finish it then.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: