Portrait Drawing Week 1: Back In The Saddle

I took voluntary redundancy from my job last week, so this week I returned to the evening life drawing sessions at Swansea Print Workshop. I used to go regularly, for years, but as I grew older I found I was too tired after a working day and I’ve probably not been for about 4 years. Of course, I still do loads of sketchbook drawing, but I like to work with professional models and take my time, being methodical. So, back in the saddle tonight. These are the first three of nine sketches, two at 5 minutes and one at 10 minutes, all using graphite block.

Sketchbook Archives: 48

Back in August 2014, I did a spate of formal portrait drawings with Faber Castell Pitt pens into my sketchbook. These are half hour poses and it was great to have such a selection of people to draw.

The Quiet High Street

I had a nice cuppa tea in Waterstones Café this afternoon and watched people in the street below the first floor window. Not so long ago, this street was thronging with pedestrians but now hardly anyone passes by. It’s happening in city- and town centres across the country, as more people take up Internet shopping. I think the lengthy Covid lockdown of 2020 – 2021 changed the culture of people hanging out in public spaces too. People walked by quickly as it’s getting chilly, so I had to scribble fast. Working at this speed with moving figures, I get a sense of maybe how L.S. Lowry might have worked, they’re quite stick-like.

Getting On A Bit

Here’s another scribble from to The Divine Comedy gig at Swansea Arena on Saturday evening. I sketched a couple of people after the support band, Studio Electrophonique. It was a seated gig but by the last quarter, most people were on their feet and dancing, with a crowd around the stage. The security staff looked slightly nervous but the fans were very good natured and quite frankly, getting on a bit. Too much risk of broken bones at this age in a mosh pit 😀

Wall-to-Wall Gen. X

Husb and I went to listen to The Divine Comedy at Swansea Arena last night. I got the tickets ages ago for his birthday so we’ve been waiting with anticipation since. We enjoyed the support band, Studio Electrophonique, and during the interval I sketched a couple of people in the audience. Then The Divine Comedy came on stage and they were amazing. It was the most middle-aged gig I’ve ever been to. A few of us old Boomers and a smattering of young people, but otherwise wall-to-wall Generation X. It was fun and very good natured. Here’s one of their songs…

Reusing Sweet Papers

Today I did a bit of preparation for printing. It’s a technique called chine collé, where you put colour into a print using pieces of fine paper (tissue, mulberry etc…) or foils. I used the polished wooden spoon to burnish the foils – they’re recycled from sweets and biscuits so they’re crinkly and I want them smoother to print on. I cut the shapes with the scissors and stuck them onto the paper (Liber-Charta 145gsm) with Pritt stick glue. They’re ready for over-printing with a lino block and black ink now. I guess I’ll do that sometime over the weekend.

A Cyanotype Pigeon

A cyanotype pigeon because…well, why not? The original is a little sketch I did into my sketchbook. I scanned into my computer and reversed it into a negative in Adobe Photoshop. Then I printed it onto a sheet of acetate and used it to make the cyanotype in an exposure unit. I used Bockingford paper (350gsm) coated with chemicals I mixed fresh. With hindsight, I should have cut around the bird so it isn’t sitting in a square of white against the blue background.

Someone Else’s Artwork

The magnificent Helios by Luke Jerram was at Swansea Minster on Saturday and Sunday during the Swansea Arts Weekend. I was so blown away by it during the day (above) that I went back to see it at night as well (below).

There was a haunting and evocative soundtrack playing as well. The church (also called Saint Mary’s) had thousands of visitors. I’m pleased for them because they have fantastic stained glass windows as well. And a nice little tea room area with homemade cakes – I had some delicious bara brith and a cuppa tea. So civilised.

Through The Window: In The Bookshop Café

I scribbled this in Waterstone’s café earlier today. I managed to get a seat opposite the huge windows and sketched this figure slumped over his smartphone, with part of the new biophilic living building in the background.

#Caturday Archives: 31

December 2014 was a month of digitally drawn cats. Here’s Sparta Puss, aged 5 drawn with a free Markers app onto my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet. I liked that app, it helped my drawings to be very free.