Go Big

I carried on with my little repetitive drawings on very large paper. It’s funny, last time I came to Germany I was inspired when I got back home to do huge drawings and now I’m in Germany working on huge paper again. I wonder why?  Today I used the other end of the bamboo dipContinue reading “Go Big”

What Lurks Beneath?

I sat quietly in a park under the shade of a tree in Dresden. The temperature was 32°C and the other artists on the residency were visiting a museum. I decided to sit and draw, but not the view in front of me,  which is what I normally do when I travel. Instead, I emptiedContinue reading “What Lurks Beneath?”

The Weight of History

Finally at the Atelier Werzenhaim, idyllic setting, sunny but not too hot. I settled in and let go, experimenting with Derwent Inktense blocks onto Khadi 320gsm paper. I held a thought but didn’t try to illustrate it. I thought of how events echo down generations. I grew up with grandparents who had lived through WorldContinue reading “The Weight of History”

The Welsh May Cat: Y Gath Mis Mai…

Sparta Puss, our 14 year old Naughty Tortie, is a bit of a rampaging murderous scourge of anything smaller than her that moves. Worse than that, she brings her prey into the house. People tell us she’s bringing us ‘presents’ but you know, I’d rather go without her little gifts. The worst thing of allContinue reading “The Welsh May Cat: Y Gath Mis Mai…”

Gold Mine In The Rain

It’s the British Bank Holiday so of course, the rain was tipping down. Husb and I got fed up looking out of the window at the Easter deluge and took off up to Dolaucothi to have a look around the Roman goldmine. It’s a lovely part of the country and we had a good time,Continue reading “Gold Mine In The Rain”

Abstracting The Falls

Here’s the second drawing I did at Aberdulais Falls. It’s a picturesque place that has been immortalised in art over some centuries, even being painted by Turner himself. There no way I can compete with Turner so I looked for the abstraction in nature to focus on. I sort of squinted a bit to makeContinue reading “Abstracting The Falls”

Before The Deluge

It’s a Bank Holiday and rain is forecast so Husb and I got out of the house before the deluge started and went off to Aberdulais Falls for a bit of a walk, some historical instruction and to do a quick scribble or two. I used white, sanguine and black conté crayon into my spiral bound A4Continue reading “Before The Deluge”

Booming History

I spend some time having conversations with the Baby Boomers who sit for me and these are as important to the development of this work as the sketches. With such a wide age group, spanning 18 years, there’s a huge range of experience and history amongst us all. It’s fascinating to listen to those BoomersContinue reading “Booming History”

The School Stone Redrawn

  I’ve been travelling around South Wales drawing ancient stone monuments in the field but I’ve now started to look at the drawings and photos to decide how to develop them; maybe more complex drawings or mixed media pieces: etchings or linocuts? The first stage in this process for me is to do some smallContinue reading “The School Stone Redrawn”

Stone In A School

After the rain lifted this morning I was out with archaeologist Dewi Bowen and film maker Melvyn Williams, hunting Welsh megaliths. We stayed close to home and started out by visiting the local Dylan Thomas comprehensive school, where there is a fine Bronze Age standing stone, the Cockett Valley stone, at the far end ofContinue reading “Stone In A School”