Curry, Faggots And Mushy Peas

Ink drawing: at the curry house.

 

We have a regular babysitting slot looking after one of our great-nieces after school each Monday and this week she had a treat, dinner at The Vojon, our local curry-house [for fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, that’s just one letter away from the worst poets in the Universe]. I sketched us in the large mirrors at the end of the restaurant, reflecting the elaborate light fittings. It’s great the way that curry houses have democratised eating-out in Britain. When I was little, there were lots of Italian cafes in the city that served tea, coffee, ice-cream and steamed pies to working class people, but that was only in the daytime. Restaurants were few and far between and could only be afforded by the well-off.

If you didn’t want to cook in the evening, there was the fish and chip shop and, down the High Street, a faggot and pea shop. I can remember my Dad taking my hand and walking me down the street with a basin in his other hand. At the faggot and pea shop, they filled the basin with hot faggots in a savoury gravy and a pile of mushy peas and covered it with the teatowel Dad had brought. Then we carried it back and Mam had made some mashed potato to go with them. Delicious. Still one of my favourite meals, althought the faggot and pea shop has long gone and we buy our faggots in the local market. Then right at the end of the 1960’s the first curry house arrived in the city, serving cheap meals in the evening. It had velvet flock wallpaper, ever so posh.

Just so you know, the little Italian cafes used to heat up small round meat pies by jamming them onto the steam pipe on the coffee machine and giving them a blast of steam, making them lovely and soft and chewy, more like a suet pudding. And faggots are small savoury meatballs, considered quite a delicacy in Wales. There’s a lot of rivalry between Swansea and nearby Neath, over which has the best faggots. Swansea obviously 😉

A Jar A Cat And Tasmanian Sleep Balm

Ink sketch: still life.

I drew a still-life yesterday and I thought I’d continue the theme for a while. Almost all my work is based on the human form so it’s a bit of a challenge for me to do something else and the still-life genre is an historical one and it’s good to keep up traditions, in my opinion. It’s also a bit of a challenge choosing things to put together into a still-life. If you collect together a load of branded items, it can end up looking like an advert. On the other hand, putting together domestic objects can be a bit boring.  So I had an entertaining half an hour searching through the house trying out different things together, discovering all sorts of stuff I didn’t know I had in nooks and crannies [also some nooks and crannies I didn’t know I had!].  It’s tempting to choose timeless objects, emulating historical still-lifes, but I wanted to use things that are fairly new, that reflect modern life.

Here’s my Winsor and Newton jar, kindly bought for me by my inlaws, which doubles up as a toothbrush holder; and a little porcelain cat that used to be a light pull in the bathroom until it fell off and I put something else on the end of the string and put the cat on a bookshelf on the landing. Then there’s the tin of lavender Tasmanian sleep balm that my dear cousin Myriam sent from Australia to help with my insomnia. It does. I still get insomnia but I stroke some balm onto my temples and usually nod back off pretty quickly. It lives on the shelf next to my pillow with my stack of books that I mean to read and recent copies of New Scientist magazine and one of those word puzzle magazines [Codewords – I can’t get enough of them] with adverts for stair lifts and commode chairs on the back.  They all have those adverts. I don’t think the publishers are aiming them at the youth market.

Two Jugs And A Sugar Bowl

Does what it says on the tin, really. Didn’t have anything interesting to draw today as I spent most of it down at the Print Workshop, printing up a block print and a drypoint and I forgot to take photos of what I did to blog. So I grabbed these and stuck them on a blanket on my pouffe [had to push Ming the Merciless off first. She went off in a huff]. Quickly sketched them because I’m trying hard to draw everyday, no matter what other artwork I’m doing. It’s not easy. Those wobbly ellipses and the foreshortening – oooof! Especially the little fat jug at the back. People are so much easier to draw. Maybe I should force myself to do some still lives for practice – or penance lol 🙂

 

Better go and apologise to Ming the Merciless now. Cats have ways of getting revenge!

Sprogs, Sculptures And Sketchbooks

I babysat three young relatives today and I’m absolutely shattered. How do parents cope? Kudos, parents. I took them to see Keith Bayliss’ exhibition, The Enclosed Garden, at Mission Gallery. After I threatened them and they stopped running round and being loud, we all settled into the lovely contemplative ambience of the exhibition and absorbed the beauty of the sculptures. I settled the littlies down with their sketchbooks and some pens and they sat on the floor for the best part of an hour, drawing quietly. The drawing above is by Owain aged 7 and the one below by his sister, Rhiannon, who is 5.  Without prompting, Owain drew the male figure and Rhiannon the female one. I thought that was interesting.

The male figure has a bowl on his head and the female figure has a bird. Nathan, their cousin, also 7, drew the male figure as well. His is the drawing below. He also included a lovely little sculpted bird that was on the wall above the figure. It’s great to see the completely different styles between the three of them.

They like working in their sketchbooks and they’re very careful to sign and date their work, like proper little artists. I tried sketching them sketching, but even when they’re doing something quiet, they fidget and wriggle and change position all the time, so I didn’t get much that I was happy with and now I’m way too tired to do any more drawings. I’m off for a bath and an early night once I’ve blogged – they’ve worn me out lol 🙂

 

Gallery, Students, Tip.

Ink sketch at Elysium

 

I had a very bitty day today and it wasn’t satisfying at all. Started off with admin and stuff to do on the computer, took AGES to book some train tickets online. It would have been quicker to walk to the station and back again! Then Husb and I took a load of rubble from the studios to the recycling tip. Fascinating :$. But now I know where to put old fluorescent tubes. And this afternoon was my stint sitting the current exhibition at Elysium Gallery. I generally volunteer for the 2.30 – 5.00 slot on Thursdays so if anyone’s passing, drop by and say hello 🙂

This afternoon, thirty students from the local Art College turned up with their tutor who gave them a lecture based on the work in the gallery. I thought it was an excellent idea. They should do it more. While she was teaching, I scribbled a couple of the students listening – they all had to sit on the floor. I didn’t – I have old knees. Actually it’s not just my knees. The students looked ridiculously young to me, as do policemen these days. Let’s face it, I’m a mad old cat lady lol 🙂

Didn’t get much art work done, apart from this sketch in Faber Castell Pitt pens sizes F and B in my little cat-themed sketchbook.

Mens’ Heads And Scary Harry Potter

Ink sketch.

Went to the cinema this evening to see The Artist but because of the daft queueing system, by the time we got to the front, the film had already started so we decided to see The Woman In Black. Now, I’m not a big fan of horror films, but it’s Harry Potter right? Couldn’t be THAT scary with little Daniel Radcliffe right? And it’s a Hammer film and they were always camp and cheesy right? NOT IT’S NOT!!!! IT’S A REALLY SCARY MOVIE!!!!! I’m never going to turn a light off again!

Before the film started [and I turned into a nervous wreck] I sketched some mens’ heads. The little lad at the top had one of those ‘hairdos’ that young lads seem to be inexplicably fond of these days [I’m now officially a mad old cat lady] and the other guys had varying degrees of male pattern baldness, which I rather like. Better than the daft haircut on the wee lad anyway.

So I’m going to have a nice cup of tea now and try to calm down.

Couples And Irony.

Ink sketch: couples on Valentine's night.

 

We went out for a lovely meal this evening, because it’s Valentine’s Day and because we don’t need much of an excuse to go to PAs in Mumbles, one of our favourite restaurants. Usually when we eat out, we’re surrounded by families, single sex groups, friends on a night out but tonight it was only couples, which was a bit weird but also a bit lovely because the people in there ranged from twenty-somethings to eighty-somethings, all focussed on each other, holding hands, smiling. Dead soppy but nice at the same time.

We had a gorgeous meal and I thought I’d do some scribbling between courses as I don’t have a problem chatting and drawing, so I started sketching a youngish couple across the restaurant. Then the main course came and by the time I’d finished it, an elderly couple had arrived and sat in front of the original couple. I’d already sketched in the table and things on it, so what to do? Stop and start again? Well no. This is real life and things don’t always run smoothly, so I drew the new couple in over the existing drawing. It makes the elderly man look transparent. But it’s what happened, so here it is.

There was music playing in the background. It’s never loud in there, just nicely ambient but I noticed this track tonight because I think someone on the staff was having a laugh, given the occasion; Roy Orbison’s ‘It’s Over’ 🙂

Friendship And A Fine Stilton.

Ink drawing: still life.

An old friend came to stay over the weekend and we had a really nice time, lolling around watching films and the telly, eating comfort food to cope with the cold damp weather and relaxing in that comfortable zone that comes with many years of friendship. And today, another old friend came over for a visit and we went to lunch. She arrived at 12.30. We were still talking at 5pm! Didn’t get much work done down at the studio, but you know, it doesn’t matter because there are some things that are more important. It’s so easy to get immersed in work and before you know it, months, even years, fly by and you realise that the only contact you’ve had with friends is through Facebook and Twitter, not the real world. So it’s important to make some time in our hectic lives for those people who really matter, and to enjoy real life contact, long involved conversations over lunch or tea. Of course, new friendships form from social networking, but old ones need to be nurtured.

This evening I decided to settle down in the kitchen and draw a still life. I rarely do these, much preferring to draw people or cats, so make the most of it lol :). My weekend friend stopped by Fortnum and Mason’s in London on the way to Wales and brought us this most excellent Stilton cheese in a lovely jar. Beautifully creamy, salty, tangy and well mouldy, I’ve scoffed half the Stilton already. It’s too strong to eat a lot at once, so I’ve been nibbling little bits throughout a couple of days, seeing what goes with it best. Fresh, juicy slices of Conference pears are very good, but this evening I discovered a perfect match with a gorgeous locally-produced, home pressed, organic apple juice made from Grenadier cookers, a present from friends who have a smallholding a few miles from the city. I’d found it too sharp when I first tried it but it is a wonderful accompaniment to this top-quality Stilton. So they both had to go into the still-life setup, along with our teapot and its ‘sheep’ tea-cosy, important accompaniments to friendship and relaxation.

 

Watching The Rugby

Ink sketch.

Here’s The Husb indulging one of his favourite pastimes today, lying on the settee watching an international Rugby match on the TV. Of course Wales was playing. And Wales won. So he’s a very, very happy Husb. Final score Wales 27, Scotland 13.  Well played, excellent game, minimal shouting and swearing from the region of the settee.

I stood at the end of the settee to do the drawing, with my Pilot drawing pen, currently my favourite; I’m having a bit of a break from Faber Castell Pitts. It’s in my little cat-themed sketchbook. The foreshortening is good fun, but I don’t think he’s too pleased at the view of his male pattern baldness lol.

😉

Old Friend @ The Etsy Shop.

Ink sketch.

This is my friend who has come to visit from England for the weekend; we’ve been friends now for over 30 years. We used to riot round the place, painting the town red, hanging out in clubs and pubs so disreputable that they wouldn’t be allowed to exist these days 😉 . Now we entertain ourselves by visiting the allotment, strolling by the sea and shopping on Etsy. Old age doesn’t come alone. It’s weird that in all these years, this is the first time I’ve drawn her. It isn’t a good likeness because it’s the first time I’ve really studied her for a drawing; it’s a very quick sketch; I have a rotten cold; and I got completely preoccupied with her designer cardigan, which is LUSH! Now I’ve broken my duck and done the first drawing, I must persuade her to sit for me again so I can get a better likeness – she has an amazing face. She’s doing a bit of browsing on Etsy, looking at some lovely etchings by a young printmaker, Ellie Snowdon, who has done a beautiful series based on some of Aesop’s Fables. I sketched with a Pilot V5 Hi-Techpoint pen size 0.5 into my favourite little ‘paper blanks fantastic felines’ sketchbook, around size A6.