A Japanese JAM Tribute Band in Aberdare.

My pal and I went up to Aberdare, proper up the Valleys, on a cold Friday night in torrential rain (luckily she was driving, not me) to see a Japanese Jam cover band, The Jexit, perform at the small but perfectly formed local pub The White Lion. Of course, I had to have a scribble.Continue reading “A Japanese JAM Tribute Band in Aberdare.”

A few weeks ago I did a short online art course, the Saturday Sketch Club with the Royal Academy of Arts. The session was about drawing from the imagination with the artist Emyr Williams. It was so good for me because it’s something I just don’t normally do, I like to work from life. In this exercise IContinue reading

Blast From The Past: Life Drawing.

I’ve been going through my art cupboards and drawers sorting out tools, materials, storing old work properly, boring but necessary. I found this old life drawing that had lost its sketchbook (size A3). I used to draw like this all the time, using Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens, enhanced with graphite blocks. I guess thisContinue reading “Blast From The Past: Life Drawing.”

A Bit More Kitty Fun.

I had some fun with Photoshop yesterday, for #Caturday, but I didn’t want to stop so after I produced the greyscale image I whacked it through a Gradient Map to get this hot version. And today I made a pear and chocolate upside-down sponge cake for Sunday Tea. Husb and I had it hot withContinue reading “A Bit More Kitty Fun.”

#Caturday: Fun With Photoshop – More Bill…

Here’s little Bill aka William ChatNoir aka Phoebe, our new-ish elderly rescue cat. She’s been with us about 4 months now and things are settling down between her and our OG Naughty Tortie, Sparta Puss. It’s costing us a fortune in bribes – all sorts of kitty treats. Sadly, Bill’s human died and she wentContinue reading “#Caturday: Fun With Photoshop – More Bill…”

Cat Cut Outs

I traced a drawing I did recently of Bill, our new rescue cat, and used it as a template to cut some cat shapes to have a play with. I recently recycled some textured papers, old prints that had been rejected. I squeegeed some acrylic inks across their surfaces to see what happened. Bill’s silhouetteContinue reading “Cat Cut Outs”

Bellies And Budgie Smugglers.

I’m decluttering, sorting and storing loads of old work and I’ve been skimming through some old sketchbooks, loads of things I’ve forgotten. Here’s a page of sketches from the beach probably, about 9 years ago. There’s a good range of male body types here – the bellies are fun to draw but it’s surprising howContinue reading “Bellies And Budgie Smugglers.”

Old Sketches And Warm Welsh Cakes.

I’m on a mission to sort out my art cupboards, declutter and store things properly. I’ve been flicking through old sketchbooks and finding all sorts of things I’d forgotten about, like these little thumbnail figure drawings, probably drawn from a book …. I can’t remember. They’re fun though. I also made some Welsh Cakes. They’reContinue reading “Old Sketches And Warm Welsh Cakes.”

#Caturday: Fun With Photoshop: Bill’s Story 1.

I took a few photos of our new rescue kitty, William ChatNoir, or Bill for short, on our window seat, backlit against the spiral net curtain. She’s a black cat and the photos are perfect silhouettes in black and white, and I fancied playing with some of them in Adobe Photoshop. I ramped up theContinue reading “#Caturday: Fun With Photoshop: Bill’s Story 1.”

#InternationalBlackCatDay

Today is #InternationalBlackCatDay and here’s our not-very-international black cat Bill (short for William ChatNoir – blame Husb – he’s a Trekkie). She’s been with us for about 3 months now and she came via the Cats Protection rescue centre in Bridgend (she was originally Phoebe). Husb and I had been thinking about adopting an olderContinue reading “#InternationalBlackCatDay”