Darkening the background.

Carrying on with the little still-life painting, I filled in the colours roughly on the bottles and took the background through a mixed pink to dioxazine purple. Once the drawing is in place, this painting seems a bit like colouring-in. I normally stress over making art, but this is very relaxing.

“Pinking” the background.

I started the painting with Daler Rowney System 3 acrylic paints but since bringing it home, I’ve switched to Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic. I’m painting onto a canvas board.

Teaching, Drawing, Painting.

Starting on white.

Last week I taught an introductory adult education session at GS Artists, one of Swansea’s finest. I borrowed a selection of decoupaged bottles for the still life and set them on a plinth in the middle of the group. I chose these instead of clear bottles so we didn’t have to cope with reflections and refractions.

I started with a few drawing warm-ups, continuous line and drawing negative space, then the participants drew onto canvas board and painted with Daler Rowney acrylic paints. I worked along with them so I could demonstrate techniques in real time. I wouldn’t normally work directly onto a white background, but as it was a basic class I decided not to muddy the waters.

Scraping And Sketching.

A painting in progress, mostly dark purple and black with flashes of orange and some areas of white. There are the outlines of four people: three are little more than heads in the foreground, the fourth is the main figure and is in the centre of the canvas.
Sketching the figures.

I finished scraping a layer of Dioxazine Purple (transparent) over the bulk of my nocturne with a palette knife. When it dried, I started to sketch in some figures with Unbleached Titanium (opaque). I’m using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paints over a recycled and heavily textured stretched canvas. Still a long way to go ….

A detail of the painting.

#Caturday …

The baleful look.

It’s #Caturday / Saturday again and here she is, Sparta Puss, lounging on a comfy blanket surrounded by cushions. What a life! I put the image through Adobe Photoshop using a Watercolour filter.

Scraping On Another Layer.

On top of a canvas painted orange with some white areas, there are two flat paint brushes, a palette knife and a tube of purple paint. A streak of purple paint lies down the left hand side of the canvas, ready to be spread across the painting.
Getting ready for the next layer….

I carried on with a little bit more of my current painting, a nocturne with a fiery figure. I laid some Dioxazine Purple (translucent) onto the Cadmium Orange (opaque) ground with a palette knife and a couple of flat brushes, scraping it to let some of the orange show through.

A painting in progress with three colours, orange, purple and white so far. The paint is heavily textured as it has been put on with a palette knife.
Laying the paint directly onto the canvas.

I’m using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paint onto a stretched, sized canvas.

Rainbow Type.

From left to right, a newly printed typeface work with the upright letters FAFO in capitals and an exclamation mark and question mark lying on their sides.

I printed the type form I put together at the weekend, using a rainbow roll of Pthalo Green and Rhodamine Red oil-based relief inks. I printed with Swansea Print Workshop‘s Columbian Press onto Kent paper. I love the way the well-worn vintage letters have dints and dimples and rough areas that add to the character of the print.

Back Of The Head.

I often sketch when I sit behind people in audiences, but rarely get to draw such a magnificent pair of ears.

Listening Heads: 2.

A drawing of a young man with a distinctive haircut, shaved at the sides and swept up into a pointed quiff on top. He also has a small, neatly trimmed beard and is sitting facing slightly away from the artist in a puffer jacket.
Cool haircut.

Here’s another scribble I made when Husb and I went to a political panel event in Penybont ar Ogwr / Bridgend the other evening. I sketched this audience member and his haircut with a ballpoint pen into my leather-bound A5 sketchbook.

If You Knows, You Knows.

Spent a lovely day yesterday down at Swansea Print Workshop, learning how to set wooden type and print it up in our lovely Columbian Press. It was an introductory day course, headed by Mark Pavey. It was great, I loved it. At the end of the day I had a big smile and dirty hands – perfect!

The wooden stuff.

I can’t remember what the name of the font is, I should have written it down but I was so excited playing! I’m going in again this week so I’ll get all the technical details then.

And the meaning of the acronym? Well, if you knows, you knows 😉

#StandingStoneSunday

A painting of a reddish standing stone on a dark brown background. It stands behind a barbed wire fence, painted in white.
One of my favourites.

Here’s a favourite standing stone that I painted in the field while I was out and about with Dewi Bowen as he was researching his new book “Hunting The Wild Megalith”. It’s Garreg Coch in Carmarthenshire and it’s been protected for many years by a barbed wire fence.

We’ll be at The Workers Gallery on Saturday 29th April from 16.00 – 18.00 to sign copies. The Rhondda Valley is particularly lovely at this time of year, why not explore and join us? There will be cake!