Up The Workers

In this era of austerity and cutbacks, it’s so good to acknowledge a success story. Just over a year ago, two artists, Gayle Rogers and Chris Williams took over the recently closed public library in the little village of Ynyshir, up the Rhondda Valley and reopened it as a gallery. Not only a gallery butContinue reading “Up The Workers”

To Paint Or Not To Paint?

That’s the question, isn’t it? Some printmakers think it’s acceptable to hand-colour etchings and some don’t. I do. This is a little drypoint I did a few weeks ago at The Bagpuss Window based on a drawing I scribbled when I was in Pakistan last year. I’ve added colour with Winsor & Newton half panContinue reading “To Paint Or Not To Paint?”

The Last Of The Stones

Here are the last couple of drawings from my weekend sketching ancient burial chambers in North Pembrokeshire. This one at Pentre Ifan is drawn in charcoal, carbon and white conte crayon onto Fabriano Accademica that I had marbled with black oil paint mixed with turpentine.       Here’s the dolmen drawn over a previousContinue reading “The Last Of The Stones”

Scribbling Sacred Stones

Here’s the fourth ancient burial site I drew over the weekend on my visit to ancestral graves in North Pembrokeshire. It’s a beautiful little chambered tomb called Carreg Samson, near Abercastle. The dolmen looks out across The Irish Sea from a farmer’s clifftop field in a glorious setting. It’s around 5,000 years old and is theContinue reading “Scribbling Sacred Stones”

The Three Tombs

Trekking around North Pembrokeshire yesterday, hunting ancient burial sites, took us to Goodwick near Fishguard (what are the fish guarding?) and a bit of a trek along the cliff path towards Strumble Head, through a housing estate and along an overgrown path between back gardens and a barbed wire fence keeping goats at bay toContinue reading “The Three Tombs”

Bendy Bus

After nearly a month doing art in a semi-derelict shop (The Bagpuss Window) I’m back to my normal routine and life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop on Thursdays. This evening’s model goes by the name of Ben D’Busse, a pun on a local traffic experiment that turned out bad! I drew this with a SamsungContinue reading “Bendy Bus”

Heston And Husb

I’m carrying on with the ephemeral  wall drawing I’m doing down at The Bagpuss Window, the pop-up artspace in a shop about to be demolished in Swansea’s High Street. The drawing will be demolished at the same time. I wrote some text, “The older you get, the more dead people you know” and this isContinue reading “Heston And Husb”

On The Move

Husb and I went to the gathering in support of refugees in the centre of Swansea this afternoon. There was a good turnout and I took the opportunity to have a few scribbles. Drawing in crowds is hard; people don’t stay still. You fix on one figure as your starting point but before you finish,Continue reading “On The Move”

A New Male Nude

Just back from life drawing at Swansea Print Workshop this evening. Tonight we worked with a male model who, although thin, has very good muscle definition. I used my Samsung Galaxy Tablet Note 8 with the free Markers app, but it’s a bit on the small side for a full body study so I focusedContinue reading “A New Male Nude”

Popping Up

Earlier this evening I did my first ‘pop-up studio‘ at the Taliesin Arts Centre. My latest body of work, a collection of almost 30 pieces called ‘Er Gof’, is being exhibited in Oriel Ceri Richards Gallery and we (the art collective 15 Hundred Lives) have set up a temporary studio upstairs in the cinema foyer/bar.Continue reading “Popping Up”