Inking Up

18 brunz drawings

I’m working on a series of drawings for my next exhibition in December. I find it’s a problem deciding what to do for exhibitions. It’s relatively easy if you’re given a theme and plenty of time, or if you’re only putting one or two works into a large group show, but I have to do a minimum of 20 pieces for this one. I’ve been wondering for ages what to do with my sketchbook drawings and I’ve decided to redraw a series of them onto ‘transfer’ prints. My exhibition’s working title is ‘In The City’ because I’m using sketches of people, and things, that I scribble as I’m wandering around the streets. I’ve been doing them in batches, preparing the background ‘transfer’ prints five at a time at Swansea Print Workshop, then pencilling several and then inking them. If you want to know how to do a transfer print, click here. I’ve got about 15 sorted, so just a few more to go, then the framing, then the labelling, then the opening night – maybe it’s easier to go and stack shelves in a supermarket! 😉

Scarves, Streaming and Shady Ladies

17 santa scarf

I love where I live. The annual Santa’s parade came round again this evening and Husb and I went down to the main road at the end of our street to watch it go by. Some of my Muslim neighbours were out in their headscarves and Ugg boots enjoying the celebrations with their kids.

17 santa streaming

And next to me was a young African student in wild red and black checked shorts (it’s quite mild here at the moment). He was filming it all on his I Pad and streaming it to relatives back home.

17 santa shady ladiesThere’s a brothel opposite and some of the shady ladies came out and sat on the windowstill to see the parade. The large man seemed to be one of their regulars. I heard him say that he’d be up after Santa had gone. It was great standing in the street with thousands of people from all walks of life, all having a lovely time, all sober, all enjoying ourselves. Nice 😀

A Detail

memory 2

I’ve spent 2 days working on this at Creative Bubble artspace. It’s a very different experience to normal. Getting away from the studio means that I can try out something completely different, with plenty of wall space to spread out on and loads of interaction with both motivated and talented artists and interested members of the public who can come in and talk to us as we work. We’ve packed up now and I’ve brought this home. It’s about 5 feet long so I’ll have to find some more wallspace for it but not for another few weeks, because I have a load of work to finish off for an exhibition in December. It’s great to have a chance to let loose and experiment. Here’s about half of the piece I’ve been working on.

‘What Do Artists Do All Day? IV’

15 cb memory 1

I’m a member of an art collective called 15 Hundred Lives and we have a regular event at the Creative Bubble Artspace in Swansea. We open the door to the public for two days a month and invite people to see what it is that artists do all day. Many people only experience art once it’s on a gallery wall and have no idea what goes into producing it. We’re trying to break down those barriers and give people a chance to pop in at any stage of the genesis of a new artwork. This month we are working to the theme of memory and inviting people to bring a memory in to share with us. We had lots today – some did drawings, one brought a pinhole photograph and we even had poetry and a piece of performance art to inspire us.

memory 1

I haven’t worked like this before. I normally draw obsessively from life or, at a pinch, from research and photographs. I made a start using a sketch I made of my little nephew a few months ago and then worked back from him into my past. This is it at the end of Day 1 – I have a full day of work on it tomorrow. It’s on 2 pieces of heavyweight cotton rag paper, each A0, stretched onto the wall – it’s pretty big. I gave the whole lot a coat of gesso yesterday and rubbed it with yellow ochre acrylic paint and then drew today with carbon, charcoal, oil bars, white conte crayon and a reed pen with Indian ink.

More tomorrow……..

Late Life

14 tonya

Just back from life drawing with this one-hour study in yellow ochre oil paint on BFK Rives paper, size A3, drawing in carbon, graphite, black and white conte and traditional dip pen with Indian ink. Off to bed now. Goodnight zzzzzzzz

It’s CHRISTMASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS …erm.. showtime!

It’s CHRISTMASSSSSSSSSSSSSSS …erm.. showtime!. A bit of arty bloggage from talented printmaker Kara Seaman

Gravity! Wow!

13 gravity

Husb and I just got back from the cinema. We saw Gravity in 3D. It’s easily one of the best films I’ve ever seen. If Sandra Bullock doesn’t get an Oscar, there’s no justice. I caught this couple next to us during the adverts. They don’t turn the lights right down during the trailers so there’s just enough to draw by. I’m still drawing into my clothbound A5 Laura Ashley sketchbook, it’s lasted really well and still plenty of pages to go. As usual, I’ve stuck in a ripped bit of brown parcel wrapping paper, using a Pritt stick and drawing with my Faber Castell Pitt pens, sizes F and M. It’s definitely put me off space tourism.

 

Oh and this is my 800th blog post 🙂

Recycle and Reed

12 mari

Here’s the last drawing I did at the most recent life drawing session at Swansea Print Workshop. I worked on a piece of paper that had an image by an artist who has been working at Mission Gallery. Shaun James had produced a load of drawings and was giving them away. So I took a couple and thought I’d recycle one by working his abstract imagery in with my figurative drawing. I like to work onto paper that’s had something done to it – I don’t like the tyrrany of white space. I did a quick drawing of our model using a thick reed pen and Indian ink. The paper is about size A3 so the pen was rather big for it, but I like the way that forced me to keep the detail to a minimum and the line simple.

Practice And Pineapple Pud

11 mari

Here’s another page of drawing I did at last week’s life drawing session. It’s  a practice piece where I tried sketching different bits of the model for practice. Her hand was particularly difficult because of a lot of jewellery and she was clutching a handkerchief. The foot was much easier to draw. I used a variety of media; compressed charcoal, willow charcoal, carbon, white oil pastel and graphite block onto a sheet of canvas prepared with a yellow ochre oil bar to break the tyrrany of the white.

pineapple pud

Today was horrible outside, cold and rainy, so I made a proper Winter pud for Husb and Teenage Niece’s dessert, a steamed pineapple and golden syrup sponge pudding. With fresh pineapple. Which counts towards our five a day. So it’s healthy really.

Use It Or Lose It!

10 who

Yesterday, Husb and I joined family members and assorted Whovians on the Doctor Who Locations walk’n’talk, organised by the Swansea Library Service. It was a part of an excellent programme of free events coming up this month. I sketched one of the Who companions outside the Kardomah Cafe in Portland Street, that has a number of links to the programme as well as to Dylan Thomas and his contemporaries. It was a most excellent tour around the city, but a shame there were not more people there to enjoy an event that our local council has put on for free for its citizens. Come on people, use it or lose it!

I drew this with Faber Castell Pitt pens, sizes F and M into my Laura Ashley clothbound A5 sketchbook that I’d prepared with some ripped brown wrapping paper stuck in with a Pritt stick. It’s got to be Pritt – accept no substitute!