The Sinister Skull

I thought I had blogged all the monotypes I made from my Mari Lwyd drawings but I overlooked this one. It was the last that I did that day and maybe because I was tired and hungry, it’s probably the most sinister of the series. Mari Lwyd is actually quite a fun tradition, with lotsContinue reading “The Sinister Skull”

Doodlenotes

Husb and I recently went to a talk at Swansea’s excellent Galerie Simpson by Owen Hatherley, journalist, author, social commentator and an inspiration behind the recent Austerity Nostalgia exhibition. It was fascinating and I wanted to make notes to remind me. I had my red-embroidered-covered-lined-notebook with me and a nice Faber Castell drawing pen. I thinkContinue reading “Doodlenotes”

Random Heads

I’ll scribble anytime, anywhere, me. I only had a lined notebook with me but what the heck! It’s good practice to draw quickly, you can’t expect random people to stay still and pose. It forces you to identify the basic features of your subject and reject anything above and beyond that.   I am puttingContinue reading “Random Heads”

A Male Model [2]

A study from Swansea Print Workshop’s life drawing group last week, working with an older male model. The foreshortening was very difficult and I did a lot of reworking. I used white, sanguine and black conté crayon onto brown parcel wrapping paper. About 35 minutes.   I am putting my series of drawings of ancientContinue reading “A Male Model [2]”

A Male Nude [1]

The first of my life drawings last week at Swansea Print Workshop. I like working with this older male model, his face and body are interesting and he’s a very experienced model. This was a relatively quick sketch using white, sanguine and black conté crayons onto brown parcel wrapping paper.       I amContinue reading “A Male Nude [1]”

Annwyl Kathe

Once upon a time, the printmakers of Wingtip Press in Boise, Idaho, USA were cleaning out their flat files and found dozens of little scraps of expensive printmaking papers jamming up the drawers. Realising they probably weren’t alone with the dilemma of what to do with all those too-precious-to-throw-out leftover paper scraps, they issued an invitationContinue reading “Annwyl Kathe”

Drawing The Artist

Husb and I went to an artist talk at The Mission Gallery in Swansea earlier today. I like to scribble away in my sketchbook when I go to events like this. The artist, ceramicist Anne Gibbs was in conversation with Cath Roche, talking about her new exhibition, “Still“.  I find that if I draw, ratherContinue reading “Drawing The Artist”

The Last Mari For Now

Here’s the last of the monotypes I made recently at Swansea Print Workshop based on my drawings of the Mari Lwyd. I used a vintage paper made by J Green and Sons supplied by the rather wonderful company The Vintage Paper Co in The Orkneys. The ink is Caligo Easy Wash Relief and the chine colléContinue reading “The Last Mari For Now”

The Stone With No Name…..

This is the second stone we visited yesterday in muddy West Wales, near Llangain. Quite a few of the Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments around here don’t have names and this is one of them. It’s a large, fine stone with an unusual feature that makes it look like a face from some angles. It’sContinue reading “The Stone With No Name…..”

MUD!

Mud. Mud and standing stones. After a break of about three months I’m off out traipsing across the muddier parts of South Wales with filmmaker Melvyn Williams and pre-historian Dewi Bowen. There are still a lot of ancient monuments to be explored, recorded and drawn before Dewi is able to complete his new book. ThisContinue reading “MUD!”