I Got More Wood…

  I’ve been hacking away at my lump of old plywood today. I darkened the outline drawing I did yesterday with a greasy charcoaly thing from Daler Rowney – I should be more technical I know, but I lost the box it came in – and then I hacked the white bits out of it.Continue reading “I Got More Wood…”

I’ve Got Wood…

…..and I know how to use it :). I’ve got a stack of plywood offcuts hanging around the studio so I thought I’d do some woodcuts from my sketches. I’ve decided to work on male nudes for the foreseeable future and I’ve just completed a series of three very large manier noir drawings, including oneContinue reading “I’ve Got Wood…”

Hats And Fire

  Guy Fawkes Night!!!!! A great British tradition. Some say that Guy Fawkes is the only person ever to have entered the Houses of Parliament with honest intentions. Tonight we took a young relative to the municipal fireworks display just across the road from the sea. It was terrific, some of the best fireworks I’veContinue reading “Hats And Fire”

Sprog Sitting

  Did some sprog sitting over the weekend with a gaggle of small nieces and nephews, so I grabbed the chance to do some more scribbles of children’s heads. Weird little alien bonces are very hard to draw. The proportions are so difficult – they have impossibly huge eyes. I’ll get there …. one dayContinue reading “Sprog Sitting”

Faces At The Window

  There’s a brothel at the end of our street and sometimes the ladies sit in the window, looking out. Sometimes I surreptitiously sketch them. If they see me, they draw back and close the blinds. Locally, the policy seems to be to let them be, although technically it’s illegal. The brothels masquerade as ‘gentlemen’sContinue reading “Faces At The Window”

I Want A Steamroller!

  Tonight I went to Swansea Print Workshop for an artist talk by the new printmaker-in-residence, Fiona Kelly from Cork in the Republic of Ireland. She works mostly in block (relief) printmaking technique, basing her practice on drawing. Fantastic stuff. But best of all for me was a collaboration she showed us with some otherContinue reading “I Want A Steamroller!”

Get Out!

  Get out and scribble! Come on. Let’s take over the streets with artists and sketchbooks. I did it this evening, leaving the studio about 10 minutes early and walking down to the city centre to have a scribble. There were loads of people around so it was easy to do some speed sketching. SomeContinue reading “Get Out!”

W. I. P.

  Here’s my latest work-in-progress; a manier noir drawing in graphite worked up from a drawing in my sketchbook. I get very dirty doing manier noir drawings and my studio is covered in a fine film of graphite and charcoal – hoovering on Monday then 😦 . This evening I went to the opening ofContinue reading “W. I. P.”