So the new woodblock I’m working on has been cut and is now out in the shed drying after a coat of shellac and methylated spirits in a 50:50 ratio. It needs two more coats to seal it properly so I hope to be able to take a first proof from it sometime on Friday.
I’m in printmaking mode at the moment, with a woodcut and a silkscreen in development. This woodcut will hopefully be ready for an event at Swansea’s Cinema & Co this Saturday, November 9th. It’s a free event with a screening of the marvellous film “Set Fire To The Stars“, poetry, music and new art throughout the building……
I’d better finish carving this block pronto ………
Husb and I are just back from seeing the marvellous film ‘Set Fire To The Stars‘ at the Taliesin Arts Centre, followed by a Q&A session from one of the film’s leads, Celyn Jones. A great night out. I did some very speedy sketches in the bar before we went in. These were done in seconds. Literally seconds. When you’re drawing at that speed you are forced to focus on the essence of what you’re drawing, the absolute basic details to get an image.
After the film, during the Q&A session, I was able to spend more time drawing individual faces, up to about 10 minutes. That gave me time to get the basics down and then build up layers of detail. I used my full set of Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens in sepia, sizes S, F, M and B into my A5 Tate Gallery sketchbook. The Q&A session was a fascinating insight into the making of a low budget independent film and Celyn Jones entertained us with stories from the set, which was almost all filmed in and around Swansea. The film also stars Elijah Wood playing John Brinnin to Celyn’s Dylan Thomas.
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