Looking back to my blog posts in April 2013, I was sketching at a few events – a demonstration against the bedroom tax, some activities at our central library and people in cafes. It’s good practice to sketch quickly at random, it really trains you to identify the necessary details and get them down. Sometimes, there’s enough stillness in the room to be able to take it slowly and do more detail.
I had a couple of difficult months leading up to and just after Xmas with some of the seasonal viruses going around, so my annual Mari Lwyd print was put on hold for a while. I finally caught up with myself this week and printed my little Mari Lwyd lino blocks with foil chine collé. I used Cranfield Caligo Safe-Wash litho / relief ink onto Somerset Satin paper and a Pritt stick to glue the foils.
Here’s another chorister from the Plygain I went to last week. It’s a performance of traditional Welsh Christmas carols, sung by Côr Aderyn Du, the Blackbird Choir.
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I have a painting featured in the upcoming Open Exhibition at the Queen Street Gallery in Neath. It opens on Saturday 1st February at 14.00 and continues until the 22nd of February. The image above shows last year’s winner, Swansea artist Simon Goss whose solo show is also opening at the same time. I know Simon and he’s a brilliant artist, definitely worth a visit. The exhibition is free and Neath is a nice little town to visit. The gallery is just a short walk from the railway station. I’ll be there for the opening, pop in if you’re around.
I went to a Plygain last week, it’s a performance of traditional Welsh Christmas carols, a bit late but the choir has been busy doing so many other things. Of course, I had to have a scribble.
Through 2016 to 2019, I did a large series of drawings of standing stones out in the field, en plein air as we artists call it, across South Wales, which has been described to me as a Neolithic Landscape of the Dead, there are so many ancient tombs. I was accompanied by archaeologist Dewi Bowen who was researching his new book on Neolithic / Bronze Age monuments (Hunting The Wild Megalith) and filmmaker Melvyn Williams.
This is the magnificent tomb overlooking the beach at Manorbier in West Wales. I visited and drew it in March 2016, it was chilly but nice and sunny, with not a lot of people around, which is good when you want to concentrate on drawing. I drew with my own home-made walnut ink and conte crayons, concentrating on the mark-making as well as the forms.
This #Caturday Saturday, here is my silhouette of little rescue cat Bill on top of a drawing I did a few years back of a “leper” stone in the little church in Llanrhidian on The Gower Peninsula. I cut the image of Bill from some very heavy textured paper that I recycled, I painted it black and started to experiment with it.
A couple more head sketches from yesterday’s visit to our local A&E department (nothing serious as it turned out). People are quite still and easier to draw.
I was in the A&E (ER) department today, nothing serious as it turns out. It’s a long process having tests and waiting for results so I did a bit of sketching. People tend to be quite still and quiet in waiting rooms. I had a bit of fun with cross-hatching with this one.
I’ve got a few days off work and I did something I used to do a lot before Covid lockdowns, about once a week I’d go to a cafe for a cuppa and have a scribble as well. Cafes are good places for sketching as people are often absorbed in conversation or thought, so it’s easy to draw them incognito. I fell out of the habit when the lockdowns started, I must get back into the habit again as these little spontaneous drawings are really important for my art practice.
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