Sketchbook Archives: 26

Here are some heads from May 2013. Three are from my sketchbooks, one is charcoal over a discarded cyanotype print, one chalk over an ink splash, and one full colour monotype. I think I like drawing people’s faces more than any other thing.

A Bit At A Time…

I’ve made a start on my next Mari Lwyd lino block, but instead of carving straight onto the full size block, I’m trying out different bits of the design on smaller lino blocks, to see how they work out. First up, is the Mari’s eyeball, quite a mischievous eye, but some find her quite sinister.

On Its Way Out…

My poor old (as in very old) laptop is on its way out. I’m hoping to get another in the next couple of days but until then, my blog posts might be a bit all over the shop, so it’s pot luck. Here are some trees. I painted them from a sketch done on myContinue reading “On Its Way Out…”

Sketchbook Archives: 26

Piggies! This fine beast is from my blog in April 2013. I visited a farm and drew some Mangalitza pigs. I really liked my sketch of the boar and turned it into a little lino cut.

Transfer To Lino…

I traced my Mari Lwyd sketch onto tracing paper today, flipped it over and drew it onto my lino block, like we used to do with maps back in my schooldays, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. It’s a very basic outline, I’ve got to do some studies of the bells and ribbons, flowers and eyeballsContinue reading “Transfer To Lino…”

The Last Hat.

The last sketch and last hat from the Imbolc gig. There seems to be a trend for hatted performers at the moment for some reason. This is a fine bit of headgear and thankfully this musician isn’t bearded or bespectacled so he was a bit easier to draw.

Just A Bandana.

I was scribbling at a gig recently and most of the performers had some sort of combination of hats, beards and spectacles, which I find quite hard to draw. But here’s a performer without any of them. But he had a bandana. First time I think I’ve drawn a bandana. But it was ok.

More Hats, Specs And Beards.

Some more little scribbles from the gig the other weekend at Imbolc. The three things I find hardest to draw in people…hats, specs and beards…all in one subject. Tough going especially as drawing live is quite difficult anyway, but really good practice.

Ribbons And Bells: 1

I did a rough yesterday in monochrome washes of a new thing I’m working on which will eventually be a lino cut based on sketches of some of the Mari Lwyd / Hen Galan celebrations I’ve been to over the past few winters. I like the overall composition but it’s very rough, so I’m startingContinue reading “Ribbons And Bells: 1”

Starting Something New…

This is the first sketch, trying out an idea for a new linocut based on the Welsh Mari Lwyd tradition. I like the format, 21cms x 42cms, and I like this composition. I’ll probably try out a few more variations and I want to sharpen up some of the design stuff, like the ribbons andContinue reading “Starting Something New…”