Cockles And Icecream

Still babysitting and we took the two little ‘uns to the beach at Burryport today. It’s a funny little town which has been a bit rundown for many years, yet has a beautiful harbour with Georgian cottages, a lighthouse and a lovely beach. The car park had a coupke of vans selling seafood and icecreamContinue reading “Cockles And Icecream”

A Grand Day Out.

A little relative had her 5th birthday today so we had a family day out at Folly Farm in West Wales, which was grand, although freezing cold. Of course it was, it’s a British Bank Holiday – too much to expect fine weather. At least it didn’t rain. We are lucky to still have fourContinue reading “A Grand Day Out.”

Albert Hall, Egon Schiele And A Birthday Boy.

Another unusually hot and sunny day in Swansea so I took advantage of the second floor fire escape again and drew another aspect of the rooftops, focussing on the top of The Albert Hall in Cradock Street which is next door to the other Elysium studios and gallery. It opened in the 1860’s as aContinue reading “Albert Hall, Egon Schiele And A Birthday Boy.”

The Random Scribbler.

My family get dragooned into posing – Lucien Freud did the same, not that I’m putting myself into his illustrious category :). My young great niece spends Monday evenings after school with me and as we’re no longer allowed to send children down the mines or up chimneys I decided to get some use outContinue reading “The Random Scribbler.”

Mucky Little Kid

When I was little, Swansea beach used to be packed all through the summer. there were no cheap package holidays and most people couldn’t afford to go away; a bus trip to Barry Island if you were lucky. So there’d be thousands of kids on the beach, changing into those funny little shirred swimsuits behindContinue reading “Mucky Little Kid”

Sprogs, Sculptures And Sketchbooks

I babysat three young relatives today and I’m absolutely shattered. How do parents cope? Kudos, parents. I took them to see Keith Bayliss’ exhibition, The Enclosed Garden, at Mission Gallery. After I threatened them and they stopped running round and being loud, we all settled into the lovely contemplative ambience of the exhibition and absorbedContinue reading “Sprogs, Sculptures And Sketchbooks”

Drawing Miss Buns.

I spent some hours today with my delightful 12-year old great niece, Miss Buns, who hung out in my studio after school. I thought it might be a good idea to draw her so she settled into a big armchair and I started scribbling. Unfortunately, a 12-year old’s idea of ‘keeping still’ is very differentContinue reading “Drawing Miss Buns.”

Beefy Cobbler And Cat Sick Pie

  Been babysitting a seven year old relative who has very definite ideas on what he will and won’t eat. I’m old school – he’ll eat a balanced meal and that’s that. I bought some very cheap braising steak and cooked it very slowly in a low oven with loads of onions and some goodContinue reading “Beefy Cobbler And Cat Sick Pie”

A Load Of Mangy Scribblings.

When I was in Art College, back in the days of the dinosaurs 😉 we were told to keep a sketchbook and to put something in it everyday. What fascinated me at the time was the diversity of sketchbook styles and approaches amongst my fellow students. Some put as much effort into their sketchbook asContinue reading “A Load Of Mangy Scribblings.”

Small Boy, Big Icecream, A Bee and A Flower

  Today I babysat for my six-year old nephew and as we’re having a glorious Indian summer I took him out, around the local museums and galleries and then to an ice cream parlour for a rest and something to cool down with. He loves mint choc chip so he had a huge cornet, almostContinue reading “Small Boy, Big Icecream, A Bee and A Flower”