Our mate Mike wanted to celebrate his fortieth at Roger Waters’ “The Wall” but the British gigs were sold out, so we piled off from Ynystawe to Madrid in March. It was cold and rainy, while Swansea basked in an unseasonably warm and dry Spring. We spent two days being culture vultures, doing ElContinue reading “Stonehenge in Madrid; The Wall; and a Drowning Dog”
Tag Archives: sketching
An Early Morning Cat, The Eisteddfod and a brilliant floating office.
Had to get up early yesterday and as I was lying in bed trying to convince myself that I needed to wake up [I’m not a morning person] I reached for my sketchbook and did some drawings of Ming the Merciless who was lolling around on the bed. She throws some great shapes. Continue reading “An Early Morning Cat, The Eisteddfod and a brilliant floating office.”
An Ancient Castle, Shakespeare and a Secret Garden.
Every year our council puts on some outdoor performances of Shakespeare plays in front of Oystermouth Castle in Mumbles. It’s one of those semi-ruined Norman castles and is a spectacular backdrop to the plays. We went to see The Merchant of Venice. I’d done it in school but back then I’d never really understood howContinue reading “An Ancient Castle, Shakespeare and a Secret Garden.”
A hunky male model and electrocuting fleas.
I fancied doing some life drawing but it wasn’t life drawing group night so I borrowed Melvyn’s childhood Action Man, set up a floodlight and posed the little chap on a stool while I did this ink drawing of him. Best model I ever had – didn’t move a muscle. He’s got really bigContinue reading “A hunky male model and electrocuting fleas.”
Ming the Merciless and Melvyn catching some zzzzzzzzzzeds
Cats are not easy to draw when they’re awake because they move around so much, so most of my cat drawings are of sleeping kitties, which can get a bit boring, so I jump at the chance of getting a different angle. Ming has always adored Melvyn and he her and she often usesContinue reading “Ming the Merciless and Melvyn catching some zzzzzzzzzzeds”
Waspies, Steampunk and Drawing in the Dark
Swansea Steampunk night happens at a very atmospheric Victorian club which has developed a patina of faded grandeur over the past 150 years or so. Once a month it’s taken over by strange people in spectacular costumes and weird accessories. It’s great to draw there because I normally work with professional nude models andContinue reading “Waspies, Steampunk and Drawing in the Dark”
A Big Bum and The Berlin Bundestag
Berlin, January 2010 and a group of artists from Swansea were traipsing around in two feet of snow when I did this unflattering drawing of Sandra during our guided tour of the Bundestag. Minus 15º C meant that we were all overdressed in lots of layers and although film and video are supposed to addContinue reading “A Big Bum and The Berlin Bundestag”
Stasi style and a big pig’s leg in Berlin below zero
The Stasi museum in East Berlin is an unassuming modern building snuggling in the middle of blocks of flats just off the main street. Inside, it’s a shrine to 1960’s style, not at all like an evil lair. This retro-chic Trabant van in the Stasi museum was used to transport prisoners for interrogation to StasiContinue reading “Stasi style and a big pig’s leg in Berlin below zero”
Minus 15 and still drawing
Minus fifteen in Berlin and I’m drawing in the snow. I carry my sketchbook and draw all over the place and it went with me to Germany in January 2010 which was one of the coldest winters in a generation with two feet of snow and temperatures dropping to minus 20ºC at night. I’ve neverContinue reading “Minus 15 and still drawing”