A Blast From The Past…

From 2012, a sketchbook scribble of Oystermouth Castle in Mumbles at the western edge of Swansea. I used to do a lot more drawing en plein air directly into sketchbooks, but I fell out of that daily practice during the Covid19 lockdowns and I haven’t really got back into it. I should, it’s good forContinue reading “A Blast From The Past…”

Playing With Drawings 3

I’m playing with Adobe Photoshop and some of the charcoal drawings I did during the first lockdown 2 years ago, using Gradient Map and a selection of Artistic Filters. The originals are in black and white and it’s expanding my imagination to change them into colour and try out some different effects. I suppose inContinue reading “Playing With Drawings 3”

Playing With Drawings 2

I’ve been looking at some of my sketchbooks and having a digital play with some of the drawings. I don’t normally do that, I usually scribble and then leave them, but lately I’ve been going back to them, seeing if they trigger any ideas. I take digital photos of all my sketches and I uploadedContinue reading “Playing With Drawings 2”

Playing With Drawings 1.

I’ve been looking at some of my sketchbooks and having a digital play with some of the drawings. I don’t normally do that, I usually scribble and then leave them, but lately I’ve been thinking about working from them, lots of other artists do. Trying Different Effects I take digital photos of all my sketchesContinue reading “Playing With Drawings 1.”

The Stand Of Trees

Another quick sketch in willow charcoal on Khadi paper caught as we left the allotment this evening. I’m getting used to being very sparing with it now, not doing too much detail. I find it helps to squint to see the blocks of light and dark more clearly. This stand of trees caught my eye,Continue reading “The Stand Of Trees”

Just Five Minutes

If you’ve only got five minutes, draw. Even when you’re so short of time, draw. It only takes a few minutes every day to keep up that regular practice and it all adds up over a year, decade, lifetime. I only had five minutes this evening after we left the allotment with our first summerContinue reading “Just Five Minutes”

The Sausage Fingered Stick Of Doom

For most of my life I haven’t been keen on charcoal, I thought it was a bit clumsy. Husb calls it “the sausage fingered stick of doom”. Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it isn’t much good if you want to do fine detail on small paper. My Khadi sketchbook isn’t big soContinue reading “The Sausage Fingered Stick Of Doom”

Carving Blocks And Charcoal At The Castle

Today was pretty productive. I inked, traced and transferred seven texts onto little lino blocks and cut two of them. These are part of my series of words and phrases I’ve written down through the course of the Covid19 pandemic, from the first day of lockdown. Eventually, I’ll be printing them onto home-made cotton masks.Continue reading “Carving Blocks And Charcoal At The Castle”

Charcoal And Baps

I took my Khadi sketchbook and willow charcoal to the allotment this evening and drew from inside the allotment site, which is tucked away in a corner of the Castle park. It’s on a fairly steep hill dropping away to the coast and we’re near the top. It’s surrounded by woodland, which can be aContinue reading “Charcoal And Baps”

Mucky, Messy and Mumbles

Yesterday evening after Husb and I watered the allotment, I did a charcoal sketch facing Oystermouth Castle. Today, we walked around the castle park and I sat on a bench with my back to the Castle, looking towards the beach. My view was mostly trees and the park in the foreground, with a glimpse ofContinue reading “Mucky, Messy and Mumbles”