Meerkats United

Such a wonderful day spent with a family of meekats, these intriguing little characters fill me with joy and wonder,their constant vigil standing to attention like miniature soldiers always makes me chuckle,
Being allowed access into the enclosure with them to take some pictures was a great opportunity to get close to these little guys,
I was really overwhelmed how friendly they were clambering all over me checking me out, trying to eat my shoelaces and looking for grubs in the folds of my clothes,
I am really looking forward to painting a mural on the wall of the house for them, Im hoping to start it this week ,and will post pictures

Latest Sketches

Here are a selection on my latest sketches 

An afternoon on the beach

Spent the afternoon in the sunshine on the beach at Port Eynon, Gower, I love this plan spent some lovely camping escapades here , evening bonfires on the beach,

Today I had a bit of time between appointments and decided to throw my sketching bag in the car and fill in a bit of creative time, 

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