I Don’t Do Nature

I draw people and occasionally, at a push, animals but I don’t do nature. I’ve just finished Martin Gayford’s book about his conversationas with David Hockney and he discusses his new-ish paintings from the countryside surrounding his home in the north of England, so I thought I should break out of my comfort zone andContinue reading “I Don’t Do Nature”

Saturday Night Curry

Went for a Saturday Night Curry with a friend and his little girl, to celebrate his birthday. Best birthday present if you ask me. The food always takes a while at The Vojon, but it’s worth the wait because it’s lovely. They take good care of children too. I sketched the little one peeking fromContinue reading “Saturday Night Curry”

Drawings For A Dead Biker

There’s an odd little church nearby for born-again-bikers; the pastor and church members are outlaw bikers who have converted to Christianity and today they held a funeral for one of their members. There were hundreds of motorbikes, some really gorgeous ones – Triumphs, Harleys, a few vintage and everyone turned up in full colours asContinue reading “Drawings For A Dead Biker”

Stuff Behind My Eyes

Had a day away from the studio today to catch up on admin and do things I’d been putting off for a while, like getting an eye test. I’ve been squinting for a good while now and need new specs so finally got round to it today. I like the bit when the optician shinesContinue reading “Stuff Behind My Eyes”

Pêcheurs, Matelots et Mamelles

Husb and I went to The Vojon for a curry earlier this evening and felt a bit portly afterwards, so as it’s a rather lovely evening we went for a long walk along the beach. Swansea Bay is now a lovely golden sweep, very different from the murky, polluted beach of our youth. I stoppedContinue reading “Pêcheurs, Matelots et Mamelles”

Creepy Alien Children!

Here’s one of the life drawings I did last night. It was a 15 minute pose and there was a lot of tension in the body which was quite difficult to draw. I’ll definitely work on it some more; it has potential. I was pootling about on Facebook earlier and came across this example ofContinue reading “Creepy Alien Children!”

Cake And Contrapposto

My hobby is baking cakes. I don’t particularly like eating them but I love making them. I usually make one for life drawing group at Swansea Print Workshop on Thursday evenings and tonight did a classic sponge cake filled with home-made strawberry jam and vanilla buttercream. None of it made it back home – theseContinue reading “Cake And Contrapposto”

Stir Crazy Celtic Knots

I was ‘babysitting’ the current show at Elysium Gallery earlier this afternoon, doing my volunteer stint for the day and a shy young man wandered in, wearing a Big Issue seller’s tabard. He asked if it was alright to come in, he was very nervous. I made him welcome and he really liked the exhibition.Continue reading “Stir Crazy Celtic Knots”

A Renaissance Romp

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited onto an intensive course in Renaissance drawing, using materials and equipment typical of that era. I couldn’t say anything about it at the time, but now it’s all gone public. The drawings done by the group of artists and students are to beContinue reading “A Renaissance Romp”

Avengers And A Fidget-Free Sprog.

Had a very family filled day yesterday with LOADS of relatives calling, so I made a big batch of Welsh cakes on my griddle. They didn’t last long. They never do! I haven’t done any sketchbook drawings for about a week, so, having agreed to babysit a couple of small relations for the afternoon, weContinue reading “Avengers And A Fidget-Free Sprog.”