Tag Archives: art

Scribbling On A Glacier

ICELANDIC JOKE (courtesy of Olafur The Guide) Q. “What do you do if you’re lost in an Icelandic forest?” A. “Stand up.” I guess you had to be there. There are lots of  forests in Iceland made up of the Arctic Birch, Betula pubescens tortuosa, but because of the climate the trees are generally veryContinue reading “Scribbling On A Glacier”

Stacks And Giants

We spent a while on a wonderful beach of black sand covered with shiny dark, coin-shaped pebbles, fringed with towering silvery basalt columns, like the ones at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. I couldn’t resist scribbling and despite the snow, sketched some of the basalt with one of the Reynisdrangur sea stacks in theContinue reading “Stacks And Giants”

Freezing Mitts And Yellow Grass

As we travelled around Iceland, Husb and I noticed that the grass that thinly covers the black lava landscape is an unusual yellowy-orange colour. I think it might be Leymus Arenarius (Lyme grass) but I’m not sure. Before I went, I prepared different drawing media, including a 20cm square sketchbook of handmade Khadi paper. IContinue reading “Freezing Mitts And Yellow Grass”

Frozen Trolls And Black Sand

  Now that I’ve had a bit of sleep, I’ve been looking through the drawings I did in Iceland. I prefer to draw when I’m travelling because the memories are more vivid than when I’ve just taken photos. Olaf  The Guide and Otto The Driver (on a sabbatical from Springfield, obviously) took us to aContinue reading “Frozen Trolls And Black Sand”

Volcanos, Glaciers and Freezing Fingers

  I’ve been to Iceland! That’s the country, not the shop! It was amazing. I took sketchbooks, paper and card with me and loads of different drawing materials because I wasn’t sure what would work in that climate – my fingers as it turned out. It was freezing – 3 days of torrential snow taughtContinue reading “Volcanos, Glaciers and Freezing Fingers”

Getting Butch

  Sometimes I draw in white ink into a rather lovely black sketchbook by Paperchase. But it ain’t half difficult! Funny thing is, if I draw onto paper that I’ve coloured with a wash, I really enjoy it. Maybe it’s because the commercial one is so evenly coated and perfect, it’s like drawing straight ontoContinue reading “Getting Butch”

The Proofing Dilemma

  Here’s a dilemma. I’ve done enough hacking on my new woodcut to try a first proof. But I really like the piece as it is, with the colour of the natural wood contrasting with the creamy whiteness of the carved areas and the grey/black of the bits I’ve coloured with ink and wash; doneContinue reading “The Proofing Dilemma”

A Work Of Sadness

  I don’t normally draw landscapes but I always take a sketchbook with me when I’m travelling. Here’s a sketch I made from the window of my bedroom at the hostel in Bisham, Pakistan. It was my first sight of the Karakoram mountain range – spectacular. More people should think about holidaying in Pakistan –Continue reading “A Work Of Sadness”

Block Block Block

  Someone asked me about the difference in the final prints made by blocks in different materials so here are three I did earlier :). This top one is hacked from a piece of plywood. It’s very rough and choppy because the wood splinters when you attack it with the cutting tools and it alsoContinue reading “Block Block Block”