Sounds Like A Plan…

Still experimenting with pastels on paper today, this time using a beautiful mid-weight vintage paper from a British mill that no longer exists. I wanted to be a bit more specific with the colours so I started working with various blue Daler Rowney soft pastels, using both hands to make randomised marks on the paperContinue reading “Sounds Like A Plan…”

Three Papers

A while back, I did some drawings of artists who inspire me and from those drawings I made some silkscreen stencils and printed up a series of nine images. Then I scanned a couple of those screenprints and had them made into small rubber stamps and that’s what I’m working with now, experimenting and seeingContinue reading “Three Papers”

Cool Sea. Hot Sky.

  Husb and I went out to look for the Midsummer sunset this evening from the top of one of the city’s hills. I had a bit of a scribble, looking South West across Swansea Bay. The still sea was misty and smudged into layers of pale cool blues interspersed with pinky-purply smears. I drewContinue reading “Cool Sea. Hot Sky.”

On Midsummer’s Eve

  One lovely thing about having visitors is that we get to take people around the great places locally; it’s easy to be complacent about your home and take it for granted. It’s good to see your locality through the eyes of others. Today I took my friend down to Rhossili Bay at the furthestContinue reading “On Midsummer’s Eve”

Out Of The Gloom

I’m ploughing on with atmospheric sketches based on digital photos from the old church in Swansea that I visited a few weeks ago. I’m trying to keep it as minimal as possible, with more black than white, emphasising the chiaroscuro. I’m using conte crayon into an A4 ‘Ebony’ sketchbook by Daler Rowney. I took theContinue reading “Out Of The Gloom”

Feeling It

Just back from life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop. I started with a piece of charcoal but I wasn’t in a charcoal mood tonight and it didn’t feel right on the paper (Daler Rowney A3 sketch pad). So I switched to a lump of graphite and scribbled away. If felt better, it just felt rightContinue reading “Feeling It”

Experiments At Pentre Ifan

I spend a couple of days in Pembrokeshire drawing dolmens. I managed to get to 4 sites and did some sketching in the field, not easy as I forgot to take my drawing board so I was drawing on grass or even the stones themselves. I tried out some different techniques. These first two drawingsContinue reading “Experiments At Pentre Ifan”

Pre-washed

A description of 1980s denim fashion and also my way of preparing some of my little Khadi handmade paper sketchbooks (15cms square) with random ink washes using dilute Indian ink applied with a small piece of natural sponge. It’s a good base for night sketches. All you need is a bit of white compressed charcoalContinue reading “Pre-washed”

Another Block Bites The Dust

And here’s another one in my series of block prints ‘Voyeur’. Here it is inked up just before printing, using Daler-Rowney block printing medium and Georgian lamp black oil paint, ratio two thirds to a third, taken with a bamboo Japanese baren onto Fabriano Accademica 120 gsm.