One Tarp, Two Leaves, Three Badges.

One tarpaulin.

I’ve been doing some adult education sessions on Swansea’s Kilvey Hill, part of a creative partnership between Coed Lleol and Swansea Print Workshop. This is where I was working this morning, it’s lovely, even though the rain threatened, we had a big tarpaulin stretched over the work station.

Two fern leaves.

I was teaching the participants how to make prints from leaves using Gelli Arts plates (above) and making an image by rubbing with a block of graphite.

Three botanical badges.

Then everyone chose sections of their prints and rubbings that they liked best and we made badges with them. Here are some I made earlier (above). I bought the badge machine during Covid Lockdown to entertain younger relatives, but it’s turned out to be one of the best pieces of kit I’ve ever had for community arts.

Let’s Get Ready To Roller…..

I’m rollering grey paint (Liquitex) onto black canvas (The Works) with a sponge roller. I’m trying to be as bold with my painting as I was recently with my drawings during my residency in Germany. Let’s see where this goes…

#Caturday: Almost Together.

It’s #Caturday Saturday again and here’s a photo of Bill (William ChatNoir) in the foreground and Sparta Puss in the background, just a metre or so from each other. Bill’s on the bed, Sparta Puss on the window seat and both are trying very hard to ignore each other. It’s been 14 months since we adopted Bill from the local rescue centre.

She and Sparta Puss are the same age, now 15 years. Sparta Puss has been with us since she was a tiny kitten and poor Bill had been with her human since she was tiny, too. Unfortunately her human died and she was signed into the rescue centre. They really don’t like each other but we’ve now reached the stage where they will tolerate being in the same room. I’ve adjusted the photograph with Adobe Photoshop Poster Edges filter.

Getting Ready…

Getting ready to try a new approach to painting. I bought some square black canvasses, quite cheap in The Works, and I’m going to have a go at rollering Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paint directly onto them with a sponge roller. I have a plan. Let’s see how (if) it works out.

Sketchbook Archives: 11

Faces from the past, sketchbook drawings from July 2012, about a year after I started this blog. Husb and family feature in a few, and people out and about in cafes, with a couple of old friends. We’re all older now.

I rooted around in the garden for a selection of leaves for my recent adult education session on Gelli plate printing. The delicate leaves at the top are from a dwarf lilac, Flowerfesta Pink, that is still growing new leaves in mid-September. The ones at the bottom from the hardy evergreen ivy. Although sceptical about gel plates at first, I’m enjoying using them with botanical subjects.

I’m using a Gelli Arts plate with Liquitex heavy body acrylic paints. I used Dioxazine Purple, Pthalocyanine Blue and Hookers Green for the leaves (first layer) and Titanium White for the background (second layer).

The “oooohhh” Factor.

I really didn’t like gel-plate printing when I first tried it. I thought it was gimmicky and superficial. But I’m warming to it. It’s a very good technique to use in adult education as it’s very accessible to people who would normally avoid anything to do with art. Unfortunately, so many people had bad experiences in school that put them off art for life. With some practice I’ve learnt techniques that have the “oooohhh” factor as people are peeling their prints off the gel, and that hooks them in to maybe try other arty things.

These leaves are so subtle and delicate, the detail is gorgeous. I’m using a Gelli Arts plate with Liquitex heavy body acrylic paints. I used Dioxazine Purple, Pthalocyanine Blue and Hookers Green for the leaves (first layer) and Unbleached Titanium for the background (second layer).

Up A Hill In The Sunshine.

I love Adult Education, it’s such a joy to teach people. I work several sessions a week with different groups of participants. Today I spent a couple of happy hours up Kilvey Hill in Swansea in the sunshine, taking Gelli Plate prints from the local trees and using recycled bubble wrap to create background textures too. Gelli Plate is a very accessible way to make an image and if you take care of the plate, it’s also pretty cheap too. I’m working the Kilvey Hill sessions via Coed Lleol and Swansea Print Workshop.

#Caturday – The Chunky One.

I know it’s late 😀 Yesterday was one of those hectic days – nice though. So here’s an analytical sketch of the chunky one – Sparta Puss, our naughty tortie. An analytical sketch is one that tries to analyse the shapes and get used to what’s going on before developing further. I’ll probably do 2 or 3 of these before I’m happy with the result.

Sketchbook Archives: 10

These sketches were posted on my new-ish blog in June 2012. They’re quite a mix of where I was out and about around that time. There are some people dancing at a gig, a Big Issue seller and some shop security men on Swansea’s upper Oxford street. A friend washing up in his kitchen and people in cafes.