Enough of all this digital nonsense! Back to basics with my lovely Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens and my cloth bound sketchbook. Today I met a surprisingly fast moving tortoise called Jimmy in Cardiff. Here he is, indulging his cucumber habit.
Back To Basics
Dolby And Proud
Finally got to see the new Star Trek film this evening and it was brilliant. People like me are known as Dolbies, we stay to the bitter end, watching all the credits. I prefer the word Geeks lol. I like to spot interesting sounding jobs and find out what they are. Today it was the Greens Supervisor, which is something to do with Green screen work.
I’m still playing with the new tablet. I don’t think it’ll replace ‘proper’ drawing for me, but I often have to do some design work to feed into my printmaking and that’s what I’ve been doing today, doing lots of sketches of hearts that will be used in a monotype I’ll be doing tomorrow.
The app is Magic Marker which is very basic and doesn’t seem to have a wide range of colours but it’s okay for drafting up some basic designs and it’s helping me to get used to using the tablet.
New Tool
Finally caught up with the 21st century and got a tablet, a Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. Oooh get Me! So now I’m trying to find my way round the drawing apps. This is my first attempt at a digital scribble. Long-suffering Husb manned up as usual. I love playing with new tools.
Norman & Celtic
Husb and I spent a lovely afternoon in Llandeilo, meeting up with a friend and going for a walk through the woods to the old Dynefwr Castle which dates from the 12th century, Norman times. The heatwave was going full blast and it was really hot by the time we reached the castle so I found a shady spot to sit and scribble. Here’s a bit of it, drawn into my A5 clothbound sketchbook that I’d prepared with ripped parcel paper, drawn with Faber Castell Pitt pens, sizes S, F and B in sepia. I used a bit of Indian ink wash on the shadows and a touch of white conte crayon in the highlights.
We passed though an old overgrown graveyard next to a small chapel and I took a snap of this amazing gravestone, completely carved with Celtic knotwork designs.
OUCH! And Icecream.
Went to Mumbles this morning with Husb and Maminlaw and I FELL OVER! In the street. Just like that with no warning. I don’t know how it happened, but I ended up on the pavement cut, bruised but otherwise no damage except to my pride. There was nothing for it but a medicinal icecream so Husb drove us around the coast to Forte’s icecream parlour in Limeslade where I managed a vanilla wafer. It picked me up a bit and I sketched this, with bruised and bleeding hands, mind! I suffer for my art.
There are still many Welsh / Italian cafes and icecream parlours in South Wales. Many Italians came here during the late 19th century, mostly from the Bardi region, escaping the poverty of farming to try and make a better life as miners. They established a network of cafes, icecream parlours and fish and chip shops. Forte’s is one and still make their own gorgeous icecream to an old family recipe.
Beauty In Death
Husb and I went to the Mission Gallery’s new show opening tonight and nearly fell over with the heatwave after about 10 minutes so we left and strolled along the seafront on our way home and came across this dead bird. It’s some sort of crow and was fairly recently dead as only a couple of flies had found it. Such a beautiful creature, black and glossy and at repose. Then as we arrived home, some friends arrived and stayed for some ice cold home-made elderflower cordial. It’s so refreshing in this weather. Our friends asked if we’d taken a photo of the bird.
“Ew no!” I said, “that would be weird!”
“And standing around for 10 minutes in public drawing a little corpse isn’t?” they asked.
Hmm. Fair comment. Drawn into my A5 cloth-bound sketchbook, prepared with ripped brown wrapping paper, with Faber Castell Pitt pens, sizes S, F and B in sepia. I added a grey ink wash later.
Overworked
Just back from life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop (I took a Victoria Sandwich for tea break) and I concentrated on this one long pose. It’s on an A3 canvas sheet, prepared with scribbly oil bar in yellow ochre. I drew with carbon and white oil pastel. It was a nice pose but difficult with both hands and feet – lots of hard work. The right foot is way overworked; I just couldn’t get it right and kept going over it. I should have left it sketchy. Still, there’s enough in it to work from and it will probably be adapted and used in some future work.
On the Head and Shoulders of Giants
More bonkers hilarity from the pen of Notsogreatdictator Smith …… featuring Carwyn Jones’ nipples …. oo-er…..
Time For Bed
Had one of those days. Locked myself out of the house this morning, did my admin volunteering at Swansea Print Workshop all afternoon and then went down to the allotment to dig – dug up my garlic. Then I came home and hadn’t done any drawing today so here’s a quickie of Husb at his computer. I drew him from below, using a Faber Castell Pitt drawing pen, size F in sepia into an A5 clothbound sketchbook that I’d prepared with ripped brown packing paper, stuck in with Pritt stick. The T shirt was highlighted in white conte crayon. And now I’m off to bed zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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