Forty Years Later…

There’s an amphitheatre behind the leisure centre in Swansea and back in the 1980s there were loads of free live gigs there. Then for some unknown reason they stopped and the amphitheatre has been empty and forlorn since the mid-80s. Until this Friday when Swansea citizens have been treated to a weekend of films and bands at the new Amplitude Festival, sponsored by our local authority. It’s only taken 40 years!!! But it’s been great. Of course, I had to have a scribble and I caught this lovely lady dancing. She was so happy.

I saw loads of people I knew, we had been at the gigs 40 years ago, only then we were young 😀

Muted.

I’ve been having some fun playing around with my little single figures, drawn in ink on my recent residency in Germany. I’ve been pushing them through Adobe Photoshop and experimenting with some very vibrant colour combinations. But this one here seemed to suit a muted effect. I put it into the “Torn Paper” filter and this is what came out.

I went to the artist residency with four other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins , Rhiannon Rees  and Rhian Haf. We have been supported by Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We were mostly at the Atelierhof Werenzhaim, an artist community founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

Feeling The Heat.

Another of my “Singleton” drawings, pushed through Adobe Photoshop gradient map. I like the heat of this colour combination, it makes the figure so different from the black and white original.

I went to the artist residency with four other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins , Rhiannon Rees  and Rhian Haf. We have been supported by Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We were mostly at the Atelierhof Werenzhaim, an artist community founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

This is one of the simplest of the twig’n’ink sketches I did in Germany recently and I had to try it out in many Photoshop filters before I was happy with it.

I went to the artist residency with four other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins , Rhiannon Rees  and Rhian Haf. We have been supported by Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We were mostly at the Atelierhof Werenzhaim, an artist community founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

Spots Before My Eyes!

Still loving putting my “singleton” figures through Adobe Photoshop. I drew the original with a twig and some ink onto Khadi paper and put it into a Stamp filter, a Spot Half-Tone filter, and then through a Gradient Map. You can see my original here.

I went to the artist residency with four other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins , Rhiannon Rees  and Rhian Haf. We have been supported by Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We were mostly at the Atelierhof Werenzhaim, an artist community founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

Sponging…

I did another Adobe Photoshop transformation of one of my little drawings from my recent residency. My original was first put into “Sponge Painting” in the Filter Gallery, then pushed through “Gradient Map”.

I went to the artist residency with four other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins , Rhiannon Rees  and Rhian Haf. We have been supported by Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We were mostly at the Atelierhof Werenzhaim, an artist community founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

Like the 1960s.

I guess a lot of people use Adobe Photoshop and are used to it, but I don’t get much chance to play with it and I’m having a great time pushing these little figures through different functions. This is one of the single figures I drew with a twig and some ink onto Khadi paper. The black and white original was put into a circle half-tone and then through a Gradient Map. It’s fun! It’s reminds me of 1960s Op Art. You can see my original here.

I went to the artist residency with four other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins , Rhiannon Rees  and Rhian Haf. We have been supported by Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We were mostly at the Atelierhof Werenzhaim, an artist community founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

Breaking Textures.

I’m still pushing my small twig and ink figures through Adobe Photoshop to see what happens. I’m mainly using Gradient Map. I like the way it enhances the breaking textures on the figures, which are hard to see on the black ink originals.

I went to the artist residency with four other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins , Rhiannon Rees  and Rhian Haf. We have been supported by Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We were mostly at the Atelierhof Werenzhaim, an artist community founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

Getting Up Close.

I don’t know how many little figures I drew on the big piece of paper during my recent residency in Germany, I haven’t counted them yet. They’re tucked away in a tube and I haven’t unwrapped them since I got home. Getting them home, now there’s a story! There’s probably more than a hundred and I’m enjoying picking out little groups, or pairs, to play with. I drew this couple originally in black ink with a twig, then I scratched into the wet ink with the narrow end of a bamboo pen to make the scribbly marks. In Adobe Photoshop, I cropped these 2 from a larger picture, inverted the image then pushed it into one of the colour combos in Gradient Map. I think they’ve gone from sombre to joyous.

I went to the artist residency with four other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins , Rhiannon Rees  and Rhian Haf. We have been supported by Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We were mostly at the Atelierhof Werenzhaim, an artist community founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.

Fluorescent Twig Figures.

I did experimental drawings during my recent art residency in Germany, firstly with bamboo pens and then with random twigs dipped in ink. These twig figures are the ones I like best, the textures are more complex. Now that I’m back in my home city (away from the forests and wolves) I’m having a good time playing about with the figures in Adobe Photoshop, using Gradient Maps. I’m loving these fluorescent colours, they’re so different to the rather sinister black and white originals.

I went to the artist residency with four other Welsh women artists, Chris Bird-Jones, Sarah Hopkins , Rhiannon Rees  and Rhian Haf. We have been supported by Wales Arts International. We are all members of AGOR Abertawe, set up to facilitate creative activity between women artists in Swansea / South Wales, and the Brandenburg area. We were mostly at the Atelierhof Werenzhaim, an artist community founded in 1996 by artists from East and West Germany in a 14th century former feudal tavern estate.