Phlebotomy

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Another hospital visit today, this time taking a relative to the phlebotomy department for blood tests. That’s three relatives in hospital for some reason over the past 2 weeks. Thank goodness for the NHS. This is free apart from the costs of getting there. Of course, we pay through our taxes and national insurance, but it’s when things like this happen that you realise how lucky we are. I had a quick scribble in the waiting room, drawing into my little spotty A6 sketchbook with Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens, sizes S, F and B and a graphite pencil (B).

Curry and Sketching

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We had two young relatives visiting this evening so we took them for a curry at the local curry house, The Vojon. Fantastic food there. Had a Handi Lamb Polongwala and garlic rice. mmmmmmm. I did some quick sketching of people nearby in my little A6 spotty sketchbook with a Faber Castell Pitt drawing pen, size S. I forgot to take my glasses so I didn’t get to see the sketch properly until I got home.

The Road

YAAYYY Notsogreatdictator Smith is back with his spoof on political life in Wales. Well worth a punt

 

The Road.

First Pick Your Nuts

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It’s Autumn, it’s walnut season and my chum, artist Melanie Ezra, has discovered some walnut trees near her home. She gave me some she picked. I read somewhere that walnut skins make very good ink, so I’ve started to prepare them. I have an allergy to walnuts, they interfere with my breathing, so I wore rubber gloves, which is a good idea anyway because a dark brown liquid oozes out as soon as the skin is pierced and it stains.

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I cut the skins out and then scrubbed the nuts to remove the mushy brown stuff that was sticking to them. It was hard to remove so I rubbed them hard with a metal scourer. Although the skin and pulp are fairly soft, the nuts are hard and wrinkled.

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You can see how much they stained the yellow gloves. Tomorrow I’ll be putting the skins into a slow cooker to extract the ink.

Cat At The End Of A Long Day

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Been away today, across the border in England and just got back. It was a long day. The cats were pleased to see us and Ming the Merciless snuggled down on the stool next to my feet, in pink slippers and purple socks. My feet, that is, not Ming. It’s nice to go visiting but it’s also lovely to come home. I drew this with my Samsung Galaxy Tablet Note 8 using the free Markers app.

The Nightmare Foot

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Here’s another digital life drawing I did at Swansea Print Workshop this week. I love doing life drawing; I love anatomy and I like to challenge myself with a bit of foreshortening. It’s hard to draw though. That left foot was a nightmare.

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I used my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet with a free Markers app. I laid down a very dark ground first then built it up with light tones. I save frequently so I can put the different stages into a slide show to show the development of the drawing.

Sleepy Head

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Just back from life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop and here’s a head. The weather has been much colder and stormy the past few days. It was the first time the central heating has been on there since the Spring and our model dozed off. I drew this on my Samsung Galaxy Tablet Note 8, using the free Markers app and working over a dark ground.

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SinABAD

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This is a cyanotype , an archaic form of photography, that I did a while back. It started out as a digital photograph of a local Swansea nightclub, Sin City. I cropped, turned it black and white and printed it onto an acetate which then became the negative for the cyanotype.  I have entered this image into ‘A Book About Death Wales‘, which opens at the Royal Cambrian Academy in North Wales on October the 18th. This image sprung to mind as soon as I considered entering ABAD. Why Sin? I think it must hark back to my early childhood, when I was taken to many Baptist meetings and I vividly remember old red faced preachers (always male) screaming, “You will die and burn in hell, you sinners!!!!” Put me off religion for life.

Colouring In

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I tried something new (for me) this evening. I scanned a monochrome life drawing I did some time ago and uploaded it onto my Samsung Galaxy Tablet Note 8. I loaded it into the free Markers app and coloured it in. Great fun.

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This is one of my favourite models, an older woman who is very curvaceous, a joy to draw. It’s interesting to portray an elder in this way, challenging stereotypes.

Defending The NHS

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I’ve been back and forth to the local hospital this past week or so; two relatives have needed emergency treatment and medical investigation. There are problems with the NHS and when things go wrong they should be exposed and put right, but on the whole, we’re so privileged to have it and I feel strongly that we have to defend it. My relatives have had excellent care and attention and it hasn’t cost a penny. They’ve had very expensive procedures and have been treated with kindness, dignity and expertise. The prognosis is good.

Here’s a drawing I did this morning in one of the outpatient waiting rooms. It’s drawn across two pages of my tiny spotty sketchbook, size A6, with a Faber Castell Pitt drawing pen, size S. Back to the hospital again tomorrow, I’ll try and do another sketch there. It’s interesting to draw a figure in an unfamiliar place.