Quickies

At the start of our life drawing sessions at Swansea Print Workshop we have a few quick warm-up poses, typically no longer than 5 minutes each. They’re useful, especially if I’ve had a break and I’m a bit rusty. The first one is often awful; this one looks like Mr. Blobby, awkward, ugly and completelyContinue reading “Quickies”

Top End Boomer

And another recent Baby Boomer sketch, using a graphite stick into an A5 spiral bound sketchbook. This is someone at the upper end of the Boomer demographic, which goes from 1946 to 1964. As a generation we cover a huge range of cultural influences, music from rock’n’roll through rock, glam rock and heavy metal toContinue reading “Top End Boomer”

Drawing Real People

After getting some installations ready for a new exhibition in Penarth, “Print From Two Cities”, which I helped to install yesterday, I’m back to drawing my series of 30 minute portraits of Baby Boomers, my generation, born between 1946 and 1964. I’m aiming to do 100 of these drawings and so far I’ve done 20.Continue reading “Drawing Real People”

The Cat And The Monkeys

Greetings hairless apes. Sparta Puss here, taking over the pooter box once again. It’s been a while but I’ve been busy, y’know, eating, sleeping, getting a little chunky to keep me warm through the winter, usual stuff. Something called Christmas happened and my bald monkeys gave me a tree to climb and it was fullContinue reading “The Cat And The Monkeys”

Sunpan Scribbles

I think it’s important to draw. It underpins my artistic practice. I know a lot of people who find drawing demoralising because they can’t do it “right” but it’s a hard thing to do, like playing a musical instrument and you can’t expect to turn out a perfect drawing each time, or even for theContinue reading “Sunpan Scribbles”

Another Boomer

The latest in my series of drawings of Baby Boomers, my contemporaries, born between 1946 and 1964. This is done in a grey graphite stick. One of the nice things about doing these drawings is the conversations I am having with the people who sit for me. We’re all the same generation and have aContinue reading “Another Boomer”

The Old Quarry

I’ve been looking at the photos I took yesterday up on the Black Mountain, selecting some for sketches. I’m using a white conte crayon, which is quite chunky, into a Daler Rowney ‘Ebony’ spiral bound A4 sketchbook. Here’s Husb and Number One Niece walking around the site of the old lime kilns and quarry. QuarryingContinue reading “The Old Quarry”

Misty Mountain

Husb and I joined one of our nieces for a walk today on part of the Black Mountain north of Brynaman. Between the holidays (lots of pyjama days) and the awful torrential rain and storms, we’ve been going a bit stir crazy so despite the dire weather forecast, we thought we’d head on up theContinue reading “Misty Mountain”

Out Of The Gloom

I’m ploughing on with atmospheric sketches based on digital photos from the old church in Swansea that I visited a few weeks ago. I’m trying to keep it as minimal as possible, with more black than white, emphasising the chiaroscuro. I’m using conte crayon into an A4 ‘Ebony’ sketchbook by Daler Rowney. I took theContinue reading “Out Of The Gloom”