Brecon Beacons – scribblah

It’s #StandingStoneSunday again and here’s one of my favourites, Maen Llia, a huge megalith near Ystradfellte in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Legend has it that the stone sometimes moves to the nearby River Mellte to drink …. I did this when I was travelling across South Wales with pre-historian Dewi Bowen and filmmaker MelvynContinue reading “#StandingStoneSunday 21”

#StandingStoneSunday 7

It’s #Standingstonesunday again and I’ve been looking through the painting / drawings I did of some of the ancient stone monuments of South Wales a while back. I was travelling around hunting the wild megaliths with filmmaker Melvyn Williams and pre-historian Dewi Bowen. We trekked up the mountain near Trecastle to visit the Nant Tarw stone circles and cairn. The BronzeContinue reading “#StandingStoneSunday 7”

Finger Painting Up A Mountain.

I went on a hike up the Brecon Beacons earlier today, a circular walk beginning and ending in Craig y Nos. It was a hefty jaunt and we had a stop for a bite to eat up on the mountain, where I did a bit of sketching with Derwent Inktense blocks onto a heavy KhadiContinue reading “Finger Painting Up A Mountain.”

#StandingStoneSunday 4

It’s #StandingStoneSunday on social media again. Here’s Maen Llia, a large Bronze Age standing stone near Ystradfellte in the Brecon Beacons National Park. I painted / drew this en plein air while I was journeying across South Wales with pre-historian Dewi Bowen and filmmaker Melvyn Williams, a few years back. It was FREEZING! Dewi’s working on his newContinue reading “#StandingStoneSunday 4”

The Sugar Loaf, Wales.

I visited the Brecon Beacons Visitor Centre near Libanus earlier this week and I joined a group on a guided walk and took off into the hills. Looking North East, I saw The Sugar Loaf, near Abergavenny, and had a scribble with my new Derwent Inktense blocks. I had a watercolour brush with a reservoirContinue reading “The Sugar Loaf, Wales.”

Scribbling In The Mountains.

Here’s another sketch I did yesterday when I was visiting the Brecon Beacons. I walked a little way from the Visitor’s Centre to an ancient standing stone and noticed dark clouds looming above Pen Y Fan in the distance. So I sat on the grass and scribbled the view with Derwent Inktense blocks onto heavyweightContinue reading “Scribbling In The Mountains.”

Up The Beacons.

I was up the Brecon Beacons today, at the National Park Visitor Centre near Libanus, and it was gloriously sunny. So I had to have a scribble, didn’t I? Pen Y Fan mountain was in the distance so I did a quick sketch using my new Derwent Inktense blocks onto heavyweight Khadi paper. I reallyContinue reading “Up The Beacons.”

Finishing A Sketchbook

A few weeks into the pandemic lockdown, when it became obvious that it was going to last a long while, I set myself some lockdown challenges. One is to improve my painting skills, which I’ve been doing with the Friday Cheese and Wine Painting Club on Facebook, practising faking well known paintings. Another is toContinue reading “Finishing A Sketchbook”

While I’m Away …..

Here’s a couple of ‘blind contour’ sketches I did recently on a field trip to Craig-y-Nos with colleagues from the FIRE Lab. I did the sketches without looking at the paper and without taking my conté crayon off the paper. Forces me to focus on what’s absolutely essential and gives the linework a lotContinue reading “While I’m Away …..”