What a day. Terrific opening of the new printmaking show at Galerie Simpson earlier. Now I’m shattered and slumped in front of the telly. There isn’t a cat available for sketching, they’re refusing to hang out with the trained monkeys because they’re on the roof bothering magpies, so it’s Husb again. And now, The Voice. Totally lovely mindless telly 😀
I spent a lovely afternoon at Galerie Simpson, Swansea’s newest arthouse, helping with the new exhibition which opens tomorrow. And I spent a half hour drawing the delightful gallery puppies, Sonny and Betty, in their couture puppy jackets.
The new show features original prints by contemporary artists including Gavin Turk, Jamie Reid and Gary Hume alongside work from local artists at Swansea Print Workshop. I have a large male nude monotype in the show and there are beautiful etchings, collagraphs, silkscreen prints and lino cuts from 2 dozen Swansea Printmakers. The show opens tomorrow between 4 and 7pm at 222 High Street, Swansea and runs until Easter, opening Tuesday through to Saturday.
The puppies were drawn with graphite into my A5 Tate Gallery sketchbook. They wriggle a lot which made sketching quite difficult, but it’s good practice to try out different anatomy for a change.
Another long day with little time to draw but the cat, Ming the Merciless is dozing at my feet so it’s another quick cat sketch from me. It’s good practice to draw another species, getting to grips with different anatomy.
This is a digital sketch on my Samsung Galaxy Tablet Note 8 using the free Markers app. I put an opaque white ground on to start and then built up the drawing in layers of scribbles.
A little relative lost in his own world. I’m getting the hang of the strange proportions of children’s heads now. They are so very different to adults. Such a different shape, so pointy. The changes they go through are remarkable.
Drawn with graphite into my A5 Tate Gallery sketchbook.
Back in the summer last year, I took part in a public ‘draw-in’ in St. David’s on the west coast of Wales. A dozen artists based in Goat Street gallery were filmed drawing or painting locals and holidaymakers who queued up the road and round the corner for a chance to have their portrait done and appear on the telly. The item will finally appear on the TV tomorrow night, 11th February on The One Show, BBC1 from 7pm. I’ll probably end up on the cutting room floor, who knows.
It was good discipline for me because I aimed to draw each portrait in 30 minutes while getting a good likeness. I drew seven in 4 and a half hours. I hadn’t done anything like it before so I was well pleased with myself. Here is one of the portraits I drew with Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens into my A5 leather bound Steampunk sketchbook.
One of those days, I haven’t stopped and now it’s really late and I haven’t done a drawing to blog. So it’s going to be sketches of the cat again. Except she stopped cooperating and went off in a strop, so then poor Husb had to stand in for the cat and just as I finished drawing him, the cat came in again. Yeah thanks for that.
Drawn hastily with Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens sizes S and F into my A5 Tate Gallery sketchbook.
My vet calls her a naughty tortie. He’s right.
A lovely artblog from a fellow printmaker
And then I get food poisoning and flu? Bad herring. A Swedish woman should know better than to eat fizzy herring. Up and at it today-somwhat.
Going to add another monoprint etching from the Natural History Series. Alphabetically. Been working this series for over 10 years. Over 100 unique prints. This is going to take us a while! Today’s Concept hint?= Pliny the Elder. Really.
Today’s Print is: N.H.: Acupuncture 12″ x 18″ image. Aquatint on copper. Lino. Soft ground etching. Trace Transfer monotype. Artist designed fonts. For sale, of course. I got hooked on this series when the 2nd one I printed got sold to a museum near Warm Springs, GA. Being a huge FDR worshipper ( thanks again for Lend Lease, Social Security, etc.), I took this as a sign.
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Two days, two cities, two cafes. Husb and I went to the Marina Market in Swansea today, a lovely day, cold and crisp but sunny. There was also a Preloved Fair at the adjacent National Industrial and Maritime Museum too. It was very busy and felt for the first time that winter might be lifting. Chilled, we popped into the Museum’s excellent cafe and had pots of tea. Lovely. I did some speedy scribbles into my A5 Tate Gallery sketchbook with Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens, sizes S and F.The chap with his back to me was wearing very wrinkled clothes. Not unironed, just baggy and wrinkly. Then there was a large man by the counter wearing a black and white Swansea F.C. scarf. All scribbled in a couple of minutes. Forces you to focus on what’s really necessary.
Went up to The ‘Diff today to visit the excellent artspace, g39 just off City Road, a bustling part of the capital. Husb and I had a walk around the area, it was freezing and we found a proper old-fashioned greasy spoon caff where we indulged ourselves with bacon and egg baps and hot, strong black coffee. Lush. It was full of regulars and I scribbled these two chatting over the racing papers. I used the continuous line technique with a Faber Castell Pitt drawing pen, size F into my A5 Tate Gallery sketchbook.
Here’s the other drawing I did at the life drawing group last night at Swansea Print Workshop. I spent about 35 minutes on this portrait using my Samsung Galaxy Tablet Note 8 with the free Markers app.
I like working with this model, she has a very distinctive face, reminds me of Northern Renaissance paintings. I did a lot of scribbly overlays because the colours in this package are not particularly sophisticated. I think I may start looking for another drawing package to play with soon.
scribblah 