Now that I’ve made the decision to go all Pop Art with the “Triples” paintings I’m working on, the work is going quickly. Using a black line in a comic book style really appeals to me. Loads more to do as there are 15 portraits in 5 paintings. I hope I don’t hit another creative block!
I posted a couple of weeks ago about how I’d hit a creative block with my “Triples” paintings, I didn’t know which way to go with them. I had some really positive encouragement from other artists and after a lot of thought (well, agonising really) I told myself to stop being so precious and make a stylistic decision and get on with it. So I did. I decided to move them towards Pop Art.
So the first step is putting a black line around everything and it already looks so much better – decisive and not wishy-washy any more. Now the features are lined, I’m going in with colour, but more opaque this time, to get a comic book look. There are five paintings of three figures, so 1 down, 14 to go!
Here’s some shameless self-promotion for my one-day artist residency at The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir this coming Friday. I’ll be bringing the flat-pack Mari Lwyd that Husb and I made from a kit designed by David Pitt for TRAC. It includes the outfit I printed with a Mari Lwyd design cut into a lino block. I’ll also be printing up a cotton shirt with the Mari design …. a cheap buy from TK Maxx. And if there’s time, I’ll print up some onto paper with chine colle. Pop by and see me …..
Husb and I were having a picnic the other day on the banks of the River Tawe, opposite a newly built office block and we spotted these 2 pigeons on the edge, in front of the reflections of the building. It didn’t look real, the reflections seem like a very lovely piece of graphic design – I’d be happy to use that image for a screen print. I didn’t scribble this time, I snapped with my Samsung smart phone.
Here’s a 1 minute film of some of my drawings of Mari Lwyds. I drew them en plein air at various Mari Lwyd “Meets” across South Wales, mostly before the Covid19 lockdown. The “Meets” are slowly returning and I’m looking forward to being out and about with them again in the coming Midwinter and New Year.
Here’s the little film ….
I’m doing a 1 day residency up The Workers Gallery in Ynyshir on September 15th – all about the Mari Lwyd. Come and visit me if you’re in the area 🙂
I’m off to Ynyshir in The Rhondda Valley on Friday 15th September for a one-day residency at The Workers Gallery, a little cultural gem in this former mining community. I’ve done a lot of work over the past few years around the Mari Lwyd, an ancient Welsh mid-winter tradition, so I thought I’d take lovely papers and fabrics and re-print some of my Mari Lwyd lino blocks, experimenting with fabric inks and dyes, and chine colle on paper. I’ll also be bringing the “flat pack Mari” I started to make during the Covid19 lockdown.
You’re very welcome to pop in for a visit to see me at work and to explore this gorgeous gallery and art shop.
Husb and I went to a demonstration this evening, to protest against the plans to erect a “Skyline” zipwire complex on Swansea’s iconic Kilvey Hill. When I was a kid, the hill was completely black, not a thing grew there, it was dead, killed by the Industrial Revolution. Then in the early 1960s, Swansea University began the “Lower Swansea Valley Project” to experiment with reclaiming industrial wasteland. It was a phenomenal success and in 60 years the hill has become a beautiful wooded nature reserve, full of streams, ponds and wildlife. But it’s now under threat from a massive commercial development and local people are organising protests to keep the reclaimed hill as nature intended. Some of the protestors gathered outside the council meeting this evening to sing protest songs while others went in to voice their objections. I scribbled them.
Here’s a short film of what the area was like before and after being reclaimed.
Husb and I had a great visit to the little village of Ynyshir in the Rhondda Valley last Saturday. First we visited the Workers Gallery, to catch the end of the drawing workshop by internationally renowned documentary photographer David Hurn. Then we adjourned to the next street, to an old converted chapel, to listen to David in conversation with the legendary Welsh actor, Michael Sheen. I scribbled them (here).
But I was gobsmacked to see that the chapel has been converted into a museum of organs. The Wurlitzer types that used to be played in cinemas and dance halls. You know the sort, they rise up majestically from a hole in the stage and they’re beautifully designed and built. Not only is tiny little Ynyshir the home of the most excellent Workers Gallery, it also hosts Paul Kirner’s Music Palace. It’s incredible inside and the organs on display are fantastic.
Ynyshir is a little cultural gem nestling in the steep valleys north of Cardiff. Don’t bother with the capital, this is where culture is thriving. Oh and by the way, I’m doing an artist in residence day on September 15th at The Workers.
Had a lovely afternoon today, doing some community art in the glorious sunshine. I was working at the Graft Garden at the National Waterfront Museum, taking graphite rubbings from some of the abundant plants growing there and then turning them into badges. Fun and I like the results.
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