Studying: In The Bookshop Café

Before Covid (remember those days?) I used to go regularly to Waterstones Bookshop café to sit and sketch as it was so peaceful. It’s taken me a long time to go back to some of my pre-Covid habits, but I hope to reinstate this one. I popped in there today for a coffee and a scribble. There were quite a few young-ish people working on laptops, possibly students studying. They were absorbed in what they were doing so I could sketch away without them noticing. I used a blue ballpoint pen into my A6 cloth-bound sketchbook.

Free Talks With The Friends.

At the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery again on Friday, for a really good talk about the origins of the Welsh Red Dragon, by Professor Helen Fulton. Of course, I had a scribble.

The talks are supported by The Friends of the Glynn Vivian and are free. The next one is on Saturday October 4th by Andrew Renton.

#Caturday Archives: 29

Here’s another digital drawing from October 2014, with our darling Little Ming, a tiny but feisty and fluffy Naughty Tortie. This drawing also features my outrageously coloured slippers, socks and dressing gown. I still have the dressing gown, it’s lasted well, just the ticket for wrapping up warm on cold, dark nights.

I used a free Markers app on a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet.

A Walk In The Woods

It’s been a gorgeous day, sunny and warm but not too warm, Autumnal. Husb and I hopped in the car around 4.30 and headed off out of the busy centre to Penllegare Woods, a truly magical place on the outskirts of the city. We spent an hour or so walking through the beautiful woodland, past the lake and waterfall, and came back calm, serene and tired. I stopped for a few minutes to have a scribble, in graphite onto Khadi handmade paper.

Sketchbook Archives: 44

Some very quick sketches here, from June 2014. One of the good things of having little relatives is that they get very busy when you take them to the beach, a great chance to do some speed sketching.

Dark In The Park.

About an hour ago, twilight was coming on and Husb and I needed a bit of a walk. It’s a warm evening so we strolled to a nearby small park. More of a public gardens really, and I sat on a bench and had a quick scribble. The dark was coming down so I worked quickly, squinting my eyes to capture the light and shade in front of me. I worked with a ballpoint pen and HB pencil.

Big Words: In The Bookshop Café

I scribbled this in Waterstone’s café the other day. I liked the signage on the wall and the chap taking tea beneath it. I started to draw his companion, but they upped and left. How rude!

Continuous Line: In The Bookshop Café

Here’s another quick scribble from my visit to Waterstone’s café the other day. I like to use the continuous line method of sketching when there’s some depth to whatever’s in front of me. I find it’s the best technique to help draw perspective and proportion in a hurry.

Too Absorbed; In The Bookshop Café

Before Covid, remember that far back? It seems like ages to me. Anyway, before Covid I used to go regularly to the little café upstairs in Waterstones bookshop in Swansea. I’d have a little pot of tea and scribble for a while. I could look down into the street and get some great perspectives. The other people in the café mostly seem to go there after they’ve bought a book downstairs, to make a start reading it. That’s good for me because they’re usually too absorbed to realise that I’m scribbling them.

#Caturday Archives: 28

A digital drawing of a tortoiseshell cat from behind, lying on a purple blanket

Back to October 2014 for this #Caturday Archive. I was still having fun with digital drawing, using a free Markers app on my Samsung Tablet Note 8. SpartaPuss the Naughty Tortie was about 5 years old here. She had her back to me but was interested in what I was doing, you can tell by her ears.