Quality Control Kitteh-Style

We’re cropping well from our allotment and here’s Little Ming doing a quality control inspection on our latest pick of broad beans. We’ve grown mainly Claudia Aquadulce that I planted last Autumn; I also tried Imperial Longpod and Red Epicure but they didn’t come to much. We pick the young leaves throughout the Spring because they make a delicious salad with the French sorrel and wild garlic that are in season at the same time and they’re also good in stir fries.  I reckon we’ll get one more bag off the plants.

Here’s another drawing I did at last week’s life drawing group. In keeping with the Renaissance techniques I’m trying to incorporate into my work, I used the whole sheet of paper [it was only A6] and filled it with little quick sketches from the same pose.

I used some handmade paper that I bought at the Tate Gallery shop a while back and coloured it with diluted sepia ink and drew with a dip pen and black Indian ink.

Jamming, Scribbling And A Cat

Despite the torrential storms throughout June, we’ve picked loads of loganberries and strawberries. Over 4 kilogrammes of loganberries so far and plenty more to come. We’re running out of room in the freezer so this evening we had a jamming session. And here’s Little Ming posing with eighteen jars of newly made loganberry jam.  There’s no sign of a let up in the bad weather – apparently it’s due to Spanish Plumes. I wish the Spanish would keep their Plumes to themselves!

Here’s one of the drawings I did at life drawing group on Thursday night. I’m keeping to Renaissance techniques for a while, using tiny pieces of handmade paper with a coloured ground and a dip pen, with a little ink wash. I’m enjoying working with these techniques, very focussed and disciplined.

Doodlemum And Dancers In The Storm

My pal and fellow Swansea artist Angie Stevens, who draws the fantastic Doodlemum blog has been in the news, in the papers and on the TV this week as her wonderful blog has gone stratospheric. Here’s a link to her lovely family and some of the artwork that is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Well done Angie :).

Today was the Swansea Plinth’s last day and there was a fantastic dance group of young people breakdancing. They are so lively and moved incredibly fast so it was a real challenge to draw them. But I did my best.I’ve posted some more on Facebook, you can visit if you want 🙂 The heavens opened and it POURED down halfway through their routine but they carried right on with great enthusiasm, real troupers. Apparently Britain has been hit by a Spanish Plume, which is dragging incredible storms from the Iberian Peninsula. Interesting, but a colossal pain in the neck in the middle of summer.

Despite the weather, Swansea is a pretty cool place to live in. We have a fab beach and there’s so much art and culture going on, probably more than in most cities of comparable size. As well as the Swansea Plinth programme of events today, there are  the galleries, museums, theatres, mainstream and independent cinemas, and there was also a programme of cultural events outside the Waterfront Museum, including a 360 degree cinema. All FREE. Great place to be.

Another Box Ticked

It’s been such a busy couple of months that it’s literally a case of ticking a box and then straight onto the next thing! Today I organised a slot on the Swansea Plinth, which is a part of the Adain Avion Cultural Olympiad event. I, along with three other artists from the Life Drawing Group based at Swansea Print Workshop, sat on the plinth for two hours and drew. Just drew into our sketchbooks in full view of the general public. I’m a great believer in letting people see artists at work and we had a lot of interest, people stopped and chatted and looked at our work. The two security guards [above] took photos of this drawing on their phones.

You have to be quick, people and seagulls generally don’t hang around, but sometimes you can catch people in conversation, like this Big Issue seller and an elderly man. It was pouring down before I left the house this morning, so I was  kitted out in jeans, boots and a mac, but as we all arrived at the plinth at 10am, the rain stopped and the sun came out!!!!! And it stayed like that all day.

I did a load more drawings and I also catalogued the drawings from the other artists and you can view them on Facebook if you like 🙂

 

Solar Plates, Strawberries And A Cat.

Another busy day, drawing in the studio then picking strawberries down on the allotment – the weather has been really bad for fruit. The heat and humidity are perfect conditions for botrytis and quite a few of our strawberries have been affected, so we’re picking whenever there’s a let up in the drizzle. It was a lovely sunny evening so we made the most of it before I caught the second half of the life drawing session at Swansea Print Workshop. I also picked up the photopolymer [solar] plates that I exposed yesterday. There’s Little Ming, above, with them and below, with today’s strawberry bounty. She likes posing for photos. That’s her boiler with a view that she’s sitting on.

We did another huge pick of loganberries from the garden as well – lots of jamming to do this weekend!

Solar Etching

Another long hard day, this time at Swansea Print Workshop, doing the final day of a photopolymer [solar plate] course. I’ve completed the plate I started last week and taken some proof prints, using Charbonnel ink, which I haven’t tried before – it’s gorgeous. Here’s one of the proofs. I’m hoping to do a fairly large edition. I also exposed another 4 x A6 plates and I’ll go in next week to print them up.

 

Tired now 🙂

 

Prepping!

Everything’s a mad rush at the moment – preparing for loads of things. Here are the drawings I been preparing for the second day of the photopolymer print course [solar plate] tomorrow. I’ve been working on them for a couple of days, using nib pen, Indian ink, ink wash and black oilbar onto Truegrain [I think it may be Mylar in some countries]. They’re tiny – around A6. My last finished piece was a painting 4 foot square!

I’m also prepping for my stint scribbling in public on the Swansea Plinth on Friday, 10.00 am – 12.00 noon if you want to come and join in [or poke me with a stick. No. Scratch the stick :D]. If you want to join in the public scribble-in, bring your sketchbook and something to draw with. I’ll give you a chair and put you on the plinth.

And then in less than a fortnight, I’m in a group show opening in Bath. It’s called Commensalis and it’s at Walcot Chapel. Here’s the programme of events – there are performers as well as visual arts. It’s free too. Then at the end of July, I’m doing more public scribbling in Disruption II and an exhibition in The Brunswick, Swansea. I’m hoping to put these photopolymer etchings in and do a few more by then as well. Oh and help to organise an exhibition of international miniature prints, Leftovers II, at Swansea Print Workshop, running mid-July to mid-August.

Then I’ll take a break!!!!

Cat’n’Berries

Does what it says on the tin – here’s a cat – and some berries :D. I did loads of drawings at the studio today and forgot to photograph them, so no drawings to blog tonight. But I have two of my favourite things to blog about instead – cats and gardening. These are loganberries picked this evening from my very small back garden. There’s about a pound and a half  here and I’ve been picking a similar amount for about a week, with loads more ripening. Most of them will end up as home-made jam because we get tired of eating them fresh and loganberry jam is one of the most delicious things on the planet. We have an enclosed garden with tall Victorian stone walls. The loganberries are climbing up a south-facing wall and the microclimate is perfect for them. There’s a fig tree next to them and rhubarb below.

And here’s Little Ming in the background, not very pleased because I’ve been ambushing her with the brush whenever I can and she doesn’t like it one little bit. But it’s better than furballs. She doesn’t think so though.

Man Vs the BBC day three

Doing what the Brits do best ‘Writing A Letter!’ A rant from a professional grumbler lol

 

Man Vs the BBC day three.

The Kitchen Sink

Had a lovely evening last night, visiting a friend’s house for a meal, conversation, music, molestation by a wet cat etc…… Our friend is a fabulous chef and put on a Middle Eastern spread of mezze followed by tagine. Then some of the chaps cleaned up and here’s one of them doing the dishes. It occurred to me how times have changed. When I was growing up, we didn’t have people round for a meal; there was barely enough food for the family and it was plain British grub – no-one would have a clue what an olive was, let alone mezze and a tagine.  And as for men cleaning up?!? Unheard of. Things are so much better now 😀

The cat, Puss Puss, loves water and kept going out into the storm, getting absolutely soaked then coming in, drying herself on the guests and diving back out into the torrential rain again. We reverted to good old-fashioned British grub for dessert – rhubarb crumble – yum!