thepembrokeshirecreative

Recently after an inspiring conversation with an artist friend and during which I probably more than once said 'I really must get my paints out again', I swiftly acted on my words. I admit, it wasn't an easy thing to do as I don't have dedicated space available to leave all my painting kit set up for long, just using part of the dining table when possible for short periods. More it was the mental angst of: Would I paint something I would be disappointed with? After all, it had been some time since I'd last painted, so I'm barely proficient and expert in my desired style. In spite of these negative rumblings in my head, it still didn't work against me and even though I had no intention of creating a 'finished composition' and just have some practice, I somehow forgot myself and in a potentially destructive all-or-nothing approach, I worked on a whole scene. Fair enough, at least it was a simple one, but there was still plenty of opportunity to 'bu...

After a quick spin round the shops in Fishguard this morning I headed to Lower Town for a saunter around and maybe a spot of drawing. After a walk along to the quay and deciding maybe that wasn't going to be the warmest place to draw from, I headed for the Skirmisher car park. I reached the Skirmisher end of the river bridge and realised that I hadn't done anything from that spot before. It would make yet another view of the harbourside cottages to add to my growing tally, but I make no apologies for that, it always draws me in, so to speak. So as I was standing on the little triangle of grass (and weeds) next to the bridge abutment, to be off the road, I stood there and started scribbling with black biro. It began to feel like one that wasn't going to please me. Then, with little done, a couple of youngsters came up behind me and looked at what I was doing and asked if I was drawing. Avoiding some snide comment about stating the obvious and managing not to roll my eyes, I ...

This was a quick pencil sketch, from where I can't quite remember in Fishguard - maybe Tower Hill, showing the quay at Lower Town. It's from a couple of months back now, and didn't get an airing at the time due to erm, my slackness!

I wish I could say I'd been creating some art every day as intended. But I haven't. And I wish I'd kept this more up-to-date, which I haven't. It's not that I haven't been sketching, because I have, just maybe not every day. Some sketches really weren't worth airing and these others that I was happy with seem to have built up as a backlog because I hadn't got around to posting here much. Catch 22 then! So for now, I shall feed in some of the better sketches from the last month or two a little at a time to keep this rolling forward a bit more frequently, so here goes... This pen sketch is from the front of our house after I had finished removing the top of one of our conifers, to open up our sea view more.

Oh it's been far too long since I last posted something here! (familiar story?) In my defence, I have been fairly busy with work among other things, so as and when I managed some sketching they were largely infrequent and a bit so-so. I have given myself a mental kick to sort this out, and having a bit more time should help.  Anyway, here's a sketch of Lower Town Fishguard and the Gwaun Valley.  I'm off to have a word with myself about doing more...

I have been a bit laggardly with my posts recently, having said earlier I would do more. That doesn't mean I haven't been drawing - although maybe not quite as much as I should have. I did go through a short period in July when I wasn't so happy with some of the sketches I'd done, so this post is something of a collection of the better ones, by way of a catch-up post. Pencil sketch - more boats in Lower Town Harbour. Lower Town quay - a very simple and quick pen sketch. Llangloffan Fen - a pen sketch on a very quiet and peaceful day. Pencil sketch from Garn Fechan - adjacent to Garn Fawr (strumble).

I'm happy to say I have got back on track for now and been more productive lately - and with a bit more success. Success and satisfaction seem to come with more commitment and regularity I have found. First up, more boats in Lower Town in permanent ink fibre-tipped pen from a few days ago. Then there is this other small sketch in black biro of cottages and the quay - no apologies for being Lower Town again - my favourite and most convenient place to walk to. And yesterday I made this sketch of Aber Mawr beach and rocks with the fibre-tipped pen again. I often find that beach scenes with rocks and cliffs don't always come off as I would hope - they have a habit of looking better in reality, or to the mind's eye, than is easy to pull off with a drawing, or even a photo. That's perhaps another case of our binocular vision making things look better than in one dimension and the added senses of smell and hearing giving a much more rounded experience than a picture can someti...