On Ilkley Moor…

Here’s a quick sketch I made on Ilkley Moor when Husb and I had a few days away in Yorkshire recently. We walked to see The Badger Stone and I sat and sketched with my Derwent Inktense blocks and some water reservoir pens.

Sketching In The Park.

Here’s another little sketch from my recent holiday in Yorkshire. Husb and I went for a stroll around Saltaire and stopped for a cuppa – it was unseasonably warm.

Hands And Daffodils.

I haven’t posted on this blog for a few days because Husb and I have been away on holiday, exploring the North of England. We spent a happy few hours in Salts Mill in Saltaire, absorbing the fabulous artwork of David Hockney. There’s also a stunning exhibition of photos by Ian Beesley. We had dinner in the cafe and I drew Husb. I liked the way he was clasping his hands and the daffodils in the jar in front of them.

The Broken Tree

This tree pulled me over. It was broken, fallen, but new trunks had grown up out of it. I was in a very bad place at the time and this tree inspired me with a message of regrowth and regeneration.

Smiles And Scribbles.

Here’s the last of the sketches I made last weekend at the Omnichron gig, a happy audience. It’s nice drawing a group as I can get to practice scale with the different figures there.

A Couple Of Heads.

A couple of scribbled heads from Friday evening, the gig of fabulous local band Omnichron.

And I picked the first rhubarb of the season today, loads of it in the garden, it’s been unusually warm lately and I think it’s brought the rhubarb along a bit early.

Sketchbook Archives: 30

Heads, Hand and Feet, a selection of sketchbook drawings from way back in July 2013, back before Covid19, remember those days? I went through a phase of sticking brown wrapping paper into my sketchbooks and drawing over it. I can’t remember why I stopped, I really like it. I’m not so keen on drawing onto black paper, it’s great when it works but I have a high failure rate.

#Caturday Silhouette 18: Mari Lwyd Again.

It’s #Caturday Saturday again and this week I have put the positive silhouette of Our Bill (the rescue cat) onto a rough proof print of my latest Mari Lwyd linocut. I find that with traditional grey lino, it can take one or two attempts to get a good print from a newly cut block, so I usually do a couple of proofs onto cheap paper – this is newsprint. I like it as the background for Bill’s silhouette though, the patchy greyness emphasises her image.

Scribbling And Gigging

Husb and I went to a gig this evening, put on by Yes Cymru and featuring one of our favourite local bands, Omnichron. I guess I’d describe their music as psychedelic dance. Had a great time. Of course, I had to have a scribble or two.

Getting Stuck In…

After trawling through photos and sketches, I’m getting stuck in to working out different bits of the composition. This is partly to get familiar with the details and partly to work out if this is what I want to go with. This is based on a photo I took of the spectacular fire spinner Ddraig Williams who will be a central figure in the finished work. I don’t know yet if it will be a big woodcut or a painting, maybe I’ll do both.