Up a mountain once again, Mynydd Y Gwair this week, with filmmaker Melvyn Williams and pre-historian Dewi Bowen, visiting Penlle’s Castell. Although it looks reasonably fine, it was shockingly windy and the rain clouds loomed murkily in the distance and I struggled to draw. It was very hard work, staying upright and drawing but one ofContinue reading “Murky Mountain”
Tag Archives: Yr Helfa
Preparation And Plein Air
Here’s another view of Maen Bradwen, or Carreg Bica on Mynydd Drummau Mountain in Neath Port Talbot. It’s a massive stone and local legend has it that it bathes in the River Neath on Easter morning. I drew this fairly quickly with Daler Rowney soft pastels onto Fabriano paper that had been prepared with twoContinue reading “Preparation And Plein Air”
Best Quality
I did three drawings of Maen Bredwan this week, drawing directly onto prepared Fabriano paper that had been coated with gesso and then covered randomly with my own home-made walnut ink. I quickly sketched the basic details with a white conté crayon and then worked into it with Daler Rowney soft pastels (artist quality). It’sContinue reading “Best Quality”
Manure Mountain
Today I was back tramping around the South Wales countryside, continuing with Yr Helfa, The Hunt, a series of drawings done en plein air from ancient stone monuments. It’s been going on for a year now, with filmmaker Melvyn Williams and prehistorian Dewi Bowen and in between I had a solo show of around 40Continue reading “Manure Mountain”
It’s In The Eyes
And another Baby Boomer. Someone was looking through my Boomer sketchbook yesterday and mentioned that as he turned the pages, it was the eyes that immediately draw the attention. This is why I prefer to draw from life rather than photos, I can see the expressions up close, the real expressions that flicker across aContinue reading “It’s In The Eyes”
Just Visiting!
Forging ahead with the Baby Boomer portraits, here’s one who visited today and was scribbled …. there’s no escape! Any Baby Boomers wandering in through my front door will be nabbed! Tomorrow I have six more Boomers booked in for some intensive sketching at the Creative Bubble Artspace in Swansea. It’s a lovely space leasedContinue reading “Just Visiting!”
The Cold War
I carried on with my 30-minute Baby Boomer drawings today at the Creative Bubble artspace. I’m not just drawing, but I also have a conversation with each sitter about what being a Baby Boomer means to them, what has been iconic about our generation. It’s fascinating to talk to each person and nowContinue reading “The Cold War”
Back To Booming
After a totally hectic month building up to installing my new solo exhibition in the most excellent Workers Gallery in Ynyshir, I have my life back …. well until tomorrow when I will be drawing some more Baby Boomers. I’m trying to schedule a Baby Boomer drawing day once a week until I finish theContinue reading “Back To Booming”
And Still They Keep Coming…..
The Baby Boomers. I’m lucky that so many have volunteered, and keep volunteering, to sit for me in my creative urge to draw one hundred people of my generation before the end of the year. We’re a massive generation, that’s why we’re called boomers, or sometimes ‘the bulge’, we’re a great big lump moving throughContinue reading “And Still They Keep Coming…..”
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