Let Sleeping Cats Lie

Especially if they’re lions!   Husb and I spent a happy day at Folly Farm near Tenby celebrating a little relative’s birthday. I have mixed feelings about zoos, but this is a nice one with lots of space for the animals and they run a number of conservation programmes. With our species standing at overContinue reading “Let Sleeping Cats Lie”

Drawing Black

It’s hard, drawing black. Very hard. Sparta Puss is tortoiseshell so there are a few lighter bits on her. It was even harder to draw my late, great kitteh, Bola, who was as black as a panther. It’s all down to the marks you make, varying them to delineate the different areas of the subject.Continue reading “Drawing Black”

Scratching An Itch

Husb and I spent the evening at a very useful ‘Make And Market’ event at the new Galerie Simpson on Swansea’s High Street. We had 4 very interesting speakers, two visual artists and two creative IT people, and networking over fabulous nibbles afterwards. The gallery has only been open a couple of months but hasContinue reading “Scratching An Itch”

Cwtch And Pajamas

It’s cold, it’s been a long week and I’m cwtched in my pajamas on my comfy chair with Sparta Puss at my feet. I’m not going anywhere so I did a scribble of the cat. She’s looking like a bit of a bruiser at the moment, with her thick winter coat and winter weight gain.Continue reading “Cwtch And Pajamas”

High Tea on High Street

Husb and I popped into the new Galerie Simpson on the High Street earlier today, to partake of High Tea in the one-day-only Tweeting Bird cafe organised by Iris, who also did a lot of the baking. We took tea from a golden tea pot, munched on salmon and cucumber sandwiches and nibbled a varietyContinue reading “High Tea on High Street”

Blue Birds

I carried on with my cyanotype experiments. I have always used an ultraviolet unit to expose them in the past, which takes about 6 minutes. I wanted to see if I could expose them with natural light so I sandwiched two negatives between pieces of chemically treated paper and a sheet of glass and leftContinue reading “Blue Birds”

Scribbling With Shami

Husb and I went to a lecture in Cardiff this evening, at the University. Shami Chakrabarti, the Director of Liberty, spoke eloquently about human rights and her new book.  She was too far away for me to draw; I need to be closer to get enough detail to focus on, so I looked around theContinue reading “Scribbling With Shami”

Comparing Blues

I did some experimental cyanotypes yesterday, comparing different papers and fabrics. I used some of my sketchbook drawings for the imagery. The best results were given by a medium weight white cotton that was dipped into the cyanotype chemicals and squeezed to remove the excess. There was also a good result with the white SomersetContinue reading “Comparing Blues”

Tube Heads

Husb and I went to London on Saturday to take in some art and I always take the opportunity to do some sketching on the Tube. It’s not easy because the trains shake around a lot and they’re packed, especially at the weekend, but I managed a couple of decent heads. The first is usingContinue reading “Tube Heads”