A Palace Of Organs Up The Rhondda.

Paul Kirner’s Music Palace.

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).

Ben Snowdon plays the organ.

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.

Fun In The Sun.

Botanical Badges.

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.

#StandingStoneSunday

#StandingStoneSunday 7

Two Legends In A Valley Village.

Husb and I went to a fantastic event in the Rhondda Valley village of Ynyshir this afternoon, organised by the wonderful Workers Gallery which is currently showing an exhibition of rarely seen work by the renowned photographer David Hurn. And today they organised a conversation and Q&A session between David and the renowned actor Michael Sheen.

Two legends in one place!!!! Of course, I had to have a scribble! I didn’t spend long drawing as their conversation was so interesting.

The conversation didn’t happen at the gallery but in a nearby venue which was, let’s say, quirky! More on that in my next post

Weirdness Up A Mountain.

Husb and I took a walk up the mountain Llyn y Fan on the Bank Holiday to visit the smaller of the mountain lakes, Llyn y Fan Fach. I took some sheets of Somerset paper that I’d prepared in advance. This sheet was primed with white acrylic gesso, than brushed roughly with my home made walnut husk ink and finally I painted on the swirls with Bideford Black mixed with Nori paste (read about the process here).

I’ve been trying to push out of my comfort zone so I used this sheet up the mountain, at the lake. It’s so weird that I couldn’t even begin to do anything representational. The black swirls dominate so I just sat on the grass and got into the atmosphere of the place and let it guide my choice of colours and what I did with them. Maybe a bit like the Surrealists used to do.

Llyn y Fan Fach on a murky August day.

Blue And Red Balls.

Still having some fun with my little round gel-plate, onion nets, bubble wrap and Cranfield Safe-Wash Relief inks.

A Blue Cast …

Here’s another little gel-plate experiment using a 10cm diameter round plate, with three primary colours – Process Yellow, Magenta and Cyan – with lots of Extender to make the colours translucent. It’s quite a random process and each one has turned out different. This has an overall Cyan cast but also the Magenta is quite dominant and the overlaid Cyan makes the Magenta more purply.

The textures are built up with layers of onion nets and bubble wrap, with the Yellow going on first, then Magenta and finally Cyan.

Blue Gelli.

I spent a bit more time playing with a gel plate at Swansea Print Workshop this afternoon, using a round gel plate, a few pieces of used bubble wrap, Cranfield Safe-Wash Process Cyan relief ink and Extender onto HoSho paper. I overprinted the pieces I’ve done in the last two weeks, mixing very little of the blue pigment into the Extender, to give the red and yellow underneath a chance to shine through. The translucency of the colours allows the colours to mix, so there’s a range of secondary as well as primary colours.

The yellow and red layers were textured with plastic nets (that onions are sold in) and the final blue layer was textured with bubble wrap.

To The Legendary Lake: 1.

Sitting and scribbling in the drizzle.

It’s August Bank Holiday and of course, the weather was pretty miserable, overcast and drizzly, but reasonably warm. Husb and I were at a loose end and I’ve always wanted to walk up to the mythological lake Llyn y Fan Fach in the Bannau Brycheiniog. The lake is the site of one of Wales’ most popular legends, read more about it here. So we packed a picnic lunch and took off. The drive was a bit of a hassle, lots of tiny winding roads. We parked up and walked up the steep but well-made road, about an hour and strenuous. It was worth it though.

I worked with soft pastels (Daler-Rowney and Rembrandt) onto Somerset cotton-rag paper that I’d prepared with a couple of layers of acrylic gesso and my home-made walnut husk ink, brushed and dribbled at random. I didn’t want to do something representational, I wanted to let the amazing atmosphere of the place sweep over me and direct what marks I put onto the paper. The landscape is huge and full of strange vast shapes.

Hitting A Wall!

I’ve been working on and off with these 5 paintings for a few weeks and I’ve hit a brick wall with them! I deliberately set out to work from my imagination rather than from life, which is what I normally do. But I’m stuck – where to go with them now? Should I go representational? Should I go Expressionist? Fauvist? Pop Art? I’ll just have to get the paint out and push beyond this creative block.

The idea came originally from the triple goddess of Celtic mythology, The Morrigan is one of her legends, but with a modern twist. I’m using Somerset paper (300 gsm, 56 x 76 cms) prepared with a coat of acrylic gesso. The paint is Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic and the brushes are Daler Rowney Gold Taklon.