Manorbier Castle

Painted a few years ago while we were on holiday in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿.

I ppainted this while we were staying in a caravan in Pembrokeshire, I’d decided to take paints and a canvas for a change (I usually just take a sketch book or watercolours). I did some sketches of the castle but used a guide book for the castle to find an image to work from.

Manorbier is still in private ownership (a lot of places are now owned by the National Trust and other charities). Its really close to the coast, you can walk down a valley to the sea and if you look back you can see the castle up on a hill on the left and the church tower of the village on a hill on the right.

If you ever go to South West Wales it’s worth a visit……

9 years ago

We were visiting an agricultural show in Devon several years ago when I took the original photo. Then nine years ago I tried to copy it at the sketchfu website I used to draw at. The colours are a bit off because I took a photo of this from a screen and this is what I saved. The original drawing probably had more detail….

Don Letts portrait

I don’t watch Sky TV because I can’t afford it, but the Sky Arts channel has appeared on my Free view TV. So…..

The fifth episode of the seventh series has three people posing: Don Letts, Katie Piper and Rob Rinder. I thought I would watch, then decided to draw. I mooched about on the Web and found a photo of Don Letts to work from. I was struggling to watch the TV because I really got into doing the drawing so I missed most of the programme. If I had to say what’s the worst bit of the drawing? The forehead is too wide and high. I tried adding to the hat but that didn’t really work. Plus the hands are a bit clumpy…. I may watch and draw next week too….

Cat plus cat

Look on any shelf in my house and you will find either a cat ornament or a cat picture or painting. Here is a little cat ring holder, sent from a friend in America, and a birthday card someone sent me. I liked it so much I framed it. Sorry I don’t know the artists name. The little toy car is a spectrum persuit vehicle? From the captain scarlet and the mysterons TV series of the 1960s. The background is my bookcase with a few novels. I liked the colour combinations. I enjoy taking photos of everyday objects…

What Maggie did next…

Wore a hole punch as a hat…. Sat on my bookcase, surrounded by books. ‘Goodbye Mr Chips’ is one of them. What would they have thought of each other? Stern, disciplined, sometimes cruel. Were nort the characteristics of Mr Chips!

This ceramic Toby jug is based on the Spitting Image version of Maggie Thatcher. I also have a (slightly cracked) egg cup of her. That was because I used it as a candle holder.

No I was not impressed by her callous disregard for the poorest in society. Nor her attacks on the Miners and her introduction of the poll tax. So why have I got her? She was a present off a Potter who made her. She makes me laugh, to think about the ideas she had. At least she’s gone now.

Cat on the bath

She always greets me in the bathroom. Follows me in there. She drinks out of a glass on the edge of the bath. She prefers that to a bowl on the floor. I don’t know why she has this foible, but it’s her choice.

She also likes playing with dripping water, I’ve left the tap on a trickle and she will put her paw into the drips then lick it. It’s fun to see her playing around with it. She is a beautiful tuxedo cat, very shiny fur, neat and tidy and sweet. She also plays football with a little stripey ball, dribbling it between her paws. Such a playful cat.

Three years ago

Three years ago I was going to life drawing classes every week. The place was a bit far out in the countryside down quite narrow winding roads but I enjoyed going. The worst night was when it snowed while we were in the class. It was a very slippery and skiddy drive home. I remember there were two ways of getting there, through the town roads and then country lanes, or along a very fast dual carriageway then along equally twisty lanes. I preferred the slower town route, I might have got there later but there were not insane idiots speeding in huge trucks driving to close to my rear bumper.

The class was fun, always an interesting challenge to draw. A variety of models and sometimes a clothed pose from various guest models, like Lux whe was modeling for us on this occasion. She played the guitar if I remember….. Probably a 6b pencil sketch, that’s my favourite pencil to draw with, allows you to get all sorts of shades and textures. I really miss going to the class.

Tee shirt idea

So when I was watching a lecture yesterday about copyright © I doodled this. Apparently I own the rights to anything I draw or paint and I don’t have to register it with anyone. So even this doodle, scruffy and just roughly drawn is my property. I guess I haven’t really thought much about it. I know my finished work is copyright but I hadn’t thought about little sketches. You have to be aware of other people’s designs, and plagerism, but I don’t think I have seen anything like this before. Anyway I think it would be fun to design tee shirts.