Experimenting With The Mari

  I carried on experimenting with my Mari Lwyd sketch in monotype, getting used to working the ink and how much to leave on the plate to get the best result in the print. This is the one I like best, the density of the black is good, there is plenty of definition on theContinue reading “Experimenting With The Mari”

Pasted Tissue

Chine Collé is a technique that applies a fine paper, such as tissue, between the ink and the paper on a print so that when the whole lot is put through a printing press, the chine collé sticks to the main sheet of paper, adding colour to the overall piece. The pieces of chine colléContinue reading “Pasted Tissue”

Menace And Monotype

I’ve been working away at Swansea Print Workshop since I finished two evenings of sketching with the Coppertown Mari Lwyd last week. I decided to develop my drawings into print and chose a fairly simple reduction monotype technique, with chine collé, as my starting point. This is the first. There is usually a period ofContinue reading “Menace And Monotype”

The Mari And The Libbers

This is the last of my recent sketchbook drawings made over two evenings following the Mari Lwyd around pubs in North Gower. The last pub we went to (I won’t identify it) I hadn’t been into since way back in the 1970’s. It was one of the few pubs remaining in the area with aContinue reading “The Mari And The Libbers”

The Pagan Skull

Another of my Mari Lwyd drawings from last week. The Mary Lwyd (Y Fari Lwyd in Welsh) is an old midwinter tradition in Wales where for centuries a puppet made from a horse’s skull, decorated with ribbons and bells was accompanied around villages with singers and poets, knocking on doors of houses and pubs, engagingContinue reading “The Pagan Skull”

Midwinter Mare

  For the second night, Husb and I went out with the Mari Lwyd, trawling around pubs on North Gower with the Gower Old Horse Wassail. Midwinter celebrations date from thousands of years ago and ones involving animal skulls are common across the world. Horses were particularly important to the British Celts, a symbol ofContinue reading “Midwinter Mare”

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda – Happy New Year

The Mari Lwyd (the Grey Mare), is an ancient Welsh New Year’s tradition undergoing a revival. Husb and I have been out with our local Mari Lwyd, The Coppertown Mari, Mari Trecopr, for the past two nights as it, along with a band of merry singers, poets and mischief-makers, did a tour of some ofContinue reading “Blwyddyn Newydd Dda – Happy New Year”

Frantic Felix

The second of our little furry friends from the hotel we stayed at in Kyrenia recently. Husb and I called him Felix because he looks like the cat from the Felix food adverts. He was a persistent little tyke, mewing frantically when we passed him on the path and wrapping himself around our legs topContinue reading “Frantic Felix”

Big Ginge

Husb and I were surrounded by cats during our recent holiday in Northern Cyprus. There were three small separate well-fed colonies of kitties living on our hotel site, being doted on by staff and tourists. I thought I might draw them but to be honest, I wanted a bit of a break from drawing whileContinue reading “Big Ginge”

Salamis

On our last day in Northern Cyprus, Husb and I took off on a day trip and one of the places we visited is Salamis, an ancient site dating from the Late Bronze Age, although the majority of the visible ruins are Roman. I did a quick scribble but I don’t feel particularly happy withContinue reading “Salamis”