Dribbling Bideford Black.

I had a little bit left of the Bideford Black paint I made recently. It wasn’t a lot so I tried thinning it down with water and took a fairly wide, flat brush to make stripes across one of the sheets of paper I’d prepared with gesso and walnut ink. The Bideford Black wash broke up on the surfaceContinue reading “Dribbling Bideford Black.”

Surrealist Swirls.

I used the Bideford Black paint I made yesterday. I didn’t have any idea what to do. I’m trying to get away from always working representationally and letting my imagination take over. It’s way out of my comfort zone! I took a fairly wide, flat brush and made swirls over one of the sheets ofContinue reading “Surrealist Swirls.”

Bashing Bideford Black.

After coating some sheets of paper with my home-made walnut ink yesterday, I decided to stay with natural pigments and make paint with some lumps of Bideford Black I’ve had lurking in a box for years. I’d made paint with it before, using water (here). This time I mixed it with Nori paste and vodka.Continue reading “Bashing Bideford Black.”

The Last Of The Annual Cockling.

Here’s the final tiny quick sketches I did in my little leather-bound sketchbook on Sunday. I was at Rosehill Quarry’s annual meet-up to tidy the Cretan Labyrinth. Each year the edges need to be recut, the old trampled cockle shells removed and new ones laid. The labyrinth was cut in 1987 when Swansea’s Rosehill Quarry wasContinue reading “The Last Of The Annual Cockling.”

More From The Annual Cockling.

A couple of very quick little sketches from the annual labyrinth maintenance at Rosehill Quarry. I had to work quickly because people moved fast. Very good practice though

The Annual Cockling.

Back in 1987 a Labyrinth was cut into the turf in Swansea’s Rosehill Quarry, a unique urban wildlife park. It was installed by Bob Shaw and local author and pre-historian Dewi Bowen. It’s based on an ancient Cretan design and the incised path is filled with crushed cockle shells that are a by-product of the localContinue reading “The Annual Cockling.”

Archive Life Drawing: 1

I’ve been browsing through some of my archives and seeing loads of work I’d forgotten about. This is from 10 years ago, working with an older male model, John. I went through a brief phase of drawing onto collaged paper and mixing up my drawing materials – charcoal, conte crayon and oil bars. I don’tContinue reading “Archive Life Drawing: 1”

The Paint Station.

I haven’t done any painting for a few months, been too busy with other things, so I tidied up my painting station today, to motivate me to finish about half a dozen paintings that are nearly there …. but not quite. I bought the wall-mounted cupboard / table online a while back, not expensive, andContinue reading “The Paint Station.”

A Ripping Time

I’ve been working on a couple of collages as part of some adult teaching work that I was recently commissioned to do. This is the first stage of Collage 1, laying down a background of blacks and greys. I’m using a National Geographic magazine as the source material, ripped into small pieces. Mostly I’m lookingContinue reading “A Ripping Time”

Random Scrapings

Here’s the last of the Bockingford scraps I’ve been colouring for collage work, using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paints. I really like the work of the British artist Howard Hodgkin, whose art is abstract, yet I feel really uncomfortable doing anything abstract myself. Looking at this little piece, I see the ocean and a horizon,Continue reading “Random Scrapings”