A Head At A Gig … The Unruly One

A quick portrait sketch with a graphite block into my Khadi handmade paper sketchbook. I like the thick graphite with this textured paper, anything finer would struggle to be seen. This guy had lots of quite unruly hair and the thick end of the graphite block was ideal for scribbling a likeness.

Sketchbook Archives: 1

I started this blog in July 2011, almost 13 years now. I wanted an outlet for my sketchbooks as these are aspects of an artist’s practice that are rarely seen by other people. I had no idea I’d still be doing it all these years later, posting more-or-less every evening. The first two above areContinue reading “Sketchbook Archives: 1”

A Head At A Gig…The Hat One

Husb and I went to a gig the other night ….. more of that in another post. Of course I had to have a quick scribble or two. This is my old mate Peter Crow, who plays with an awesome Gothic Folk Rock band (I hope I got that right) called Wild-Eyed, Wicked and Oblivious.Continue reading “A Head At A Gig…The Hat One”

Travels With My Sketchbook …

I always carry a sketchbook when I travel, I prefer to look at sketches rather than photos, they seem to take me back to that time and place more effectively than a snapshot that took a few seconds to capture. Although the scribbles are quick, they’re slower and take more attention and effort than photos,Continue reading “Travels With My Sketchbook …”

Faces From The Past…

I’ve been taking a stroll through the images I’ve posted on this blog over the years – I’ve been doing it since 2011. It’s been good for me to revisit the work, I tend to ignore sketches once I’ve done them, which is a pity because there’s often some good stuff there. Here are fourContinue reading “Faces From The Past…”

A Blast From The Past…

From 2012, a sketchbook scribble of Oystermouth Castle in Mumbles at the western edge of Swansea. I used to do a lot more drawing en plein air directly into sketchbooks, but I fell out of that daily practice during the Covid19 lockdowns and I haven’t really got back into it. I should, it’s good forContinue reading “A Blast From The Past…”

One From The Archives ….

One of my favourite places is Paviland, a strange otherworldly cove on the coast of the Gower Peninsula which is the site of the Goat’s Hole Cave, famous for the skeleton of the  “Red Lady of Paviland“, which is actually a young man. From the main road, it’s a fair walk across fields via aContinue reading “One From The Archives ….”

Elder Heads: 3

And another hastily scribbled head of an elderly woman. She looks like she has had the cares of the world on her for many years. Graphite into a Khadi hand-made paper sketchbook.

Elder Heads: 2

Another scribble of an older person, as we get older we often look more like the opposite sex and it can be hard to tell elder men and women apart without cues like clothing, jewellery, make-up. I’ve used a graphite block into a Khadi handmade paper sketchbook.