Bideford Black

The Sentinel

The Sentinel is a massive quartzite standing stone, the first ancient monument we met as we walked up Mynydd Llangyndeyrn, which translates from the Welsh as the Mountain of the Church of Saint Cyndeyrn. The stone was flat on the ground until 1976, when its socket was found and it was re-erected. Nobody is sureContinue reading “The Sentinel”

Emerging Patterns

I’m continuing to work with the paper I marbled earlier in the week, squinting and staring at the random shapes and letting them form into something that makes some sort of sense. I read recently that artists may see patterns in things more readily than other people. It didn’t take me long to see theContinue reading “Emerging Patterns”

Like Watching Clouds

I carried on doing some intuitive drawing today, using some of the Fabriano paper I marbled last week; the ones I left outside to dry and then forgot about and left out overnight. The papers have been chewed and roughened by snails and it makes the surface more interesting. I stood across the room andContinue reading “Like Watching Clouds”

See How It Goes

I’m going into a phase of experimentation for a while. I have been marbling some Fabriano Accademica paper with black oil pigment and turpentine and I left it out in the garden to dry out; it was quite smelly because of the turps. I forgot about it and it was out overnight and whenContinue reading “See How It Goes”

Waste Not, Want Not.

So I was working with some fellow artists and one of them, a painter, chucked some black oil paint mixed with turps down the sink. Unfortunately, the sink was blocked so he filled it with water and squeezed some washing up liquid into it and suddenly it went all marbled. So, waste not, wantContinue reading “Waste Not, Want Not.”

New male nude

Just back from life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop where I did some experimenting with my new natural media, walnut sepia ink (I made this a few weeks ago) and Bideford Black, kindly sent to me by artists in North Devon. I was focussed on trying out these media to see what they canContinue reading “New male nude”

I was with a group of artists working with the 15 Hundred Lives collective at Creative Bubble today. We have the artspace for a couple of days every month to work together and to let the public come in and see how art is created. I’ve been working on a very big drawing in charcoalContinue reading “Bideford Black”