It’s been an exciting day. I shook hands with a lord, hung out with a Celtic warrior, sipped tea and ate a Welsh cake in an art deco temple in Swansea, and watched a film about my model and me. Here it is…. I’ve been involved in this expansive art project, Nawr Yr Arwr /Continue reading “The Lord, The Warrior And The Welsh Cake”
Tag Archives: Swansea
A Very Quick Dead Horse
Here’s the last drawing I did of the Ystradgynlais Mari Lwyd when it appeared at Gellionen Unitarian chapel a couple of weeks ago. I did it in a few seconds so I had to just get down the fundamental details of what I was looking at. I used mostly white conté crayon, a stub onContinue reading “A Very Quick Dead Horse”
Mari Lwyd’s Friends
Mari Lwyd, the ancient Welsh tradition linking back to the ancient Celtic goddess Epona and the mythological Rhiannon, welcomes the new year by parading a life size puppet constructed around the skull of a horse along with a group of characters who each have a role to play in the celebrations. These characters varyContinue reading “Mari Lwyd’s Friends”
Face To Face With A Dead Horse
Husb and I are spending a few days in The Lake District with family and I have taken a break from drawing. It’s great scenery around here but I’m not much of a landscape person to be honest, I’d rather draw cityscapes. I did a lot of drawings last weekend at Gellionen Chapel’s MariContinue reading “Face To Face With A Dead Horse”
The Old Chapel
Husb and I went to the old Gellionen Chapel last Sunday for a service that included Mari Ystrad, the Mari Lwyd from Ystradgynlais. The chapel, dating from the 1600s, is gorgeous and decorated with fresh boughs of holly. The service started with lighting a large candle and was not overtly religious, as the Unitarians welcomeContinue reading “The Old Chapel”
A Strange Place
Husb and I went to chapel last Sunday. Yes, that’s right, not something we would ever normally do. we went to see the Ystradgynlais Mari Lwyd at the Gellionen Unitarian chapel up on Gellionen Mountain. It was freezing cold but very sunny so I strolled out into the landscape and had a scribble into myContinue reading “A Strange Place”
Goodbye Little Friend
Our scruffy little cat, Ming the Merciless, had her final visit to the vet today. She’s been poorly for a while now and Husb had to make the decision to let her go. We rescued Ming when she was just a tiny, starving scrap about 10 months old. She was extremely ill from neglect andContinue reading “Goodbye Little Friend”
Kindness And Generosity
Last week I said about the charity collection box that was stolen from the nativity scene in front of the Unitarian Church on Swansea’s High Street. The church was raising money for a homelessness charity this year and has had a nativity in a large glass case every Christmas for decades, since I wasContinue reading “Kindness And Generosity”
A Quick Digital Kitty
I’m still stuck in that state of post holiday lethargy and to be honest didn’t fancy doing any drawing today but it’s important for my artistic practice that I do, so I took the easy way out and grabbed my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet and did a quick digital sketch of Sparta Puss whoContinue reading “A Quick Digital Kitty”
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda: Happy New Year
Here’s Worm’s Head on the Gower Peninsula, named from the Viking Wurme which means Dragon. So it’s Dragon’s Head which in Welsh is Penddraig. Anyway, I drew this yesterday during a very bracing walk on the cliffs at Rhossili, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I used black, sanguine and white contéContinue reading “Blwyddyn Newydd Dda: Happy New Year”
