A stroll in the park

I really do love and appriciate where I live , toiling in the studio today , I get a Facebook message from fellow artist David Cowdry' do you fancy a walk to Dinefwr ponds ' needless to say I didn't need much persuading, grabbed my camera bag and walking boots and off to go,

A great walk through the woods as everything is bursting to green up, and the heavy scent of Bluebells fills the air , next week I shall be spending time sketching and painting in the woods to capture this wonderfull time on canvas

One of the oldest Oaks in Wales in the park , an amazing tree, I wonder what stories that could tell us eh!!

Latest scribbles

Art drives me to the point of despair , the compulsion to pick up a pencil or paintbrush can at times be such a torturous undertaking , I know what I want to do but I can't bring myself to do it, a constant battle , yes battle I suppose a comparison can manifest itself in the shoes of a military commander looking to establish a beach head before the invasion, it's getting that first mark on the canvas or paper then the rest will follow and hopefully gather momentum,

I know that I should draw more it offers a release and spitanious reaction to my immediate surroundings and the artistic license to manipulate that reality can result in some pleasing results ,

Sketch books really do offer an insight into an artists soul and thought processes, whether it be a loose line drawing or highly detailed study , so I am compelled now to share with a wider audience my drawings under the title 'Latest Scribbles ' heading 

I hope that I can through this series of posts show on paper the inspiration that fuels my artistic engine

Today's Scribbles

Today was gorgeous , I spent most of the morning staining frames outside in the sun, had lunch in the decking then decided to oh for a quick spin on the bike to introduce myself to a new neighbor and fellow artist Jonathan pointer,

Great chat with him and his good wife Angela,

Back at the studio I thought that I had better get on with some sketching from reference photos that I took on my recent trip up the valley, and being that I intend getting a small collection of sketches framed for a group exhibition on the weekend , it was a case of pull my finger out 

Judging and presenting prize at Llanelli Art Society Spring Exhibition

Yesterday and today I spent adjudicating the Llanelli art society spring exhibition at the coke shill centre,

It's always a pleasure to be asked to participate in the society exhibitions as a jugs over the last few years, the standard of work always impresses me , chiding a winner is always difficult but there were a few pieces that really stood out for me ,here is my final choice it's a snow scene in oils by Peter L Davies 

The love of sketching

I often lose site of the joy I get from being out in the landscape and putting pencil to paper or brush to canvas , the shear pleasure of trying to capture that moment in time , the fleeting inspiration of the passing kingfisher or Red Kite ,

This week another artist David Cowdry and myself spent the day on the banks of the river Towy in the upper Towy valley , and I must confess that it was a real shot in the arm that I needed, the fresh damp air rolling clouds with flashes of warm sunlight that illuminates the green mossy banks like someone turning on a massive halogen lamp,

I love these wooded banks with interesting overhanging trees draped in blankets of ivy and moss, twisted and knarled branches making ideal perches for the jewel of the river the Kingfisher,