UPDATED :22.7.08.

22.7.08.

Just a quick update.

Exhibition preview went well. Thanks to my co-exhibitor Jill Nicholls....who did the snacks. I've never had strawberries dipped in dark chocolate before.

On the way home I bought some cherries and strawberries and choccie and made a huge plate of them...I went to bed feeling a bit sick.

Here's me posing for the newspaper photographer (Nick Herman) who took this shot. Gosh I look tired. The waistcoat my wife Annette embroidered many years ago depicting a Hare and a Cockerel was much admired.

16.7.08.

The day before the exhibition set up. Sea Hare blasted with a blowtorch ...absolutely amazed as it started to "colour" from the heat....and then waxed it as it cooled.

Just a hasty shot as I have dozens of other pre show jobs to do (panic.panic.panic!).....but pleased as Punch with it.

8.7.08

7 days to go....The Sea Hare sculpture is progressing well and now needs to be joined to his ears....and I am having fun.! . So I should have at least two pieces ready for the exhibition.

2.7.08

14 days to go before the set up of my exhibition "Hares and Other Encounters". Am I ready ? Arrrgggh! ... NO! Still, I work best under pressure or so I tell myself..... usually when I am slogging away late at night trying to do everything at the last minute.

Whilst working on my larger Hare sculptures this one that I have been tinkering with on and off with ....especially with the ears which are more complex....appears to have quietly been succeeding.

Just a few more hours and find a decent base for it ... and it will be finished .... he said.

21.5.2008.

Again...at last! A few lovely overcast days and I've been able to get on with some welding and start some Hares. I've managed to find a supplier of ball bearings in their rough form before chroming and now my Hares will be able to see.

Recent sales of 3 of my sculptures have left some serious gaps and with 3 one-man shows coming up starting August......in which I intend Hare sculptures to be a "tour de force" I have got to get cracking!

I am trying out using half inch flat rod which I attack with a wafer thin cutting disc to rough up the edges and am pleased with the way it mimics the Hare's fur as it appears in my drawings etc... notably under the eyes.

I intend having great fun with the ears!

At last! something to show that I am still etching despite all the other demands being made on my time, restocking galleries, editioning etc...

"Red Herrings"

Image Size 11 inches x 7 inches

12.3.08.

Gosh! The new year has started and the months have flown by and nothing much to show for it..yet I feel like I have been rushing around "Lioke wan o tem blue arsed fleys". Now Easter is looming with exhibitions all over the place, stock to build up and frame ....as usual...a head full of ideas for new work nagging at me.

Visually there is a new interest that stands out amongst the many and that is Lucifer's son...his sole offspring to date....whom my wife has called "Dave" as he reminds her of someone. Not me!...they still haven't found the body of the last person who called me that.

He is turning into a splendid specimen and promises to be a good subject for future work.

Here he is.

25.12.07.

Merry Christmas everybody... those of you who are expecting a Christmas card . ... It will be a Happy New Year one, as guess who missed the last post as he was a bit busy stocking galleries and meeting last minute "Will I get it for Christmas?" orders from this website ?

(Thanks! by the way........ .soooo many! ........paid for this Christmas and the next 2 years by the look of it.)

Yay ! Got my new camera for Christmas! A Canon EOS 400D (whatever that means?) suppose I'll have to read the manual......actually .....my wife usually reads them and I phone her up at work and ask her "Why is the ruddy thing not working? ...and she then patiently explains it to me..Bless her"

I love the depththy thingy (using technical jargon already) that focuses on the main subject...I'll work out getting the background in focus later. All in all really chuffed as I can use all my old 35mm zoom lenses and frame shots etc...

Feeling inspired now and hope to get a number of etchings on the go and possibly some watercolours.

26.10.07.

Hare and the Minotaur at present. Damn should have used a bigger board and really into the horns. Still not happy with the Hare though. Note to self....Draw the Hare first!

9.10.07.

New etching "Into a Hare" added to Hare Gallery.

28.8.07.

I've had a mind to do a pen and ink large piece called "The Hare and the Minotaur" for some time now after seeing a sculpture with that title a few years ago. I've eventually got around to starting it. Pleased with the Minotaur's progress but the Hare needs a bit of a re-think. Here's a couple of pictures of the stage it is at now.

Close up of Minotaur

24.8.07

Two new etchings added "Market Conversation" and "Talking With Shadows"

21.7.07.

Finished "The Sea Hare II" whilst sitting at the St Davids Cathedral Refectory Exhibition amidst and despite of ....screaming kids, scraping chairs and the sudden crashes and banging of crockery..(Sometimes all 3 at once! AArrrrghhhh!) that seemed to punctuate every minute there.

God Bless my MP3 Player and extra large earphones. They kept me sane!

Here some photos from the exhibition by the way.

6.7.07.

Just a quick update on the progress on the "The Sea Hare II" sketch. I've been working on it whilst stewarding an exhibition in St Davids. Starting to fill out areas and added a shoal of fish emerging behind the hare as I was getting a bit bored with the waves.

A new addition to my flock.... of the cockerel Lucifer. The owner (Thanks Emma!) kindly offered him to me and since I planned to do some work with him as a subject, I gladly accepted him.

He is every bit as intimidating as he looks.! He has settled down with his 4 new wives and 2 step-ducklings (that think they are chickens having been hatched by one of the hens.)

5.6.07.

June already ! Have started work on another welded Hare head. This one with a bit more action in its pose. Possibly this will become a "Sea Hare" and I shall have fun designing "nautical" type ears for him.

29.4.07

Finished today "The Sea Hare"

25.4.07

Finished yesterday. "The Hare and the Full Moon." Based on the earlier large pen and ink study.

9.4.07.

A bit of a hectic month..Getting ready for the start of the season. No sooner finish one job than a pile of other jobs to face. Ideas galore ... typically, when I'm in the middle of something else. So what do I do?... dash off at a tangent.

This is what I am doing instead of what I should be doing.

Another Hare head and shoulders sculpture...I've been invited to submit 3 pieces of work for an exhibition at Yale College Wrexham "Animals in Art" in September. I hope they don't mind me sending pictures of works in progress as Sod's Law... if I submit finished pieces that I have now.. they'll end up sold before I can send them in. (not that I am complaining).

Height 32" and growing!

Is it my imagination or are the ears on my Hares getting bigger ?. With this piece I've tried to give the body fur some more pronounced texture by overlapping strips of metal then dribbling over it with the torch.

Other subjects have been the Sea Hare version two. The etching is nearly complete and this time has inspired a pen and ink which is the reverse of my usual process where the pen and ink comes first. I suspect the pen and ink will be better than the etching and I shall end up dissappointed with the etching. Oh Hum... I suppose I can always do the etching again.

"The Sea Hare" Started 7.4.07 Image Size 27"x 12"

14.3.07

"The Green Hare" Completed and final proofs taken today. Been a bit of a slog this one and put paid to the myth that I accomplish my objectives with absolute ease and consumate skill. It will be one of my entries to the lottery that is referred to as the Royal Academy Summer Show this year. Wish me luck!

9.3.07

Finished today! "The Green Hare II". Pen and Ink.

Now to get on with the etching!

26.2.07

Heated until blue hot and waxed.........Finished at last!

18.2.07

Well, finally finished the Hare head and shoulders after solving problems with the welding machine. I threatened to replace it if it didn't stop giving me grief .......and I gave it a good clean through..which might have helped ?.

Now the piece is in the garden awaiting a bit of rusting for a few weeks and then it will be blowtorched to give a darker bluish tone. The combination of rust and heat application will then be sealed and finished using wax applied as it cools down..

Since the Mig welder is now working well, I've decided to start two more pieces... one of which I have an idea to do as a "Green Hare". It will be fun to try and come up with an "organic" looking version though I am concerned that there may be some sharp edges when trying to do things like leaves etc...

12.2.07

The Green Hare. (Two)

I was so pleased with the last pen and ink that I decided to do a "Green Hare " version as I was not really happy with the frontal version done earlier. It gives me something to potter about with whilst I'm waiting for my welding machine.. which has become rather temperamental of late, to decide to work properly.

23.2.07 ... Just thought I'd show the stage it is at now with a bit more work done on the background. I think it got a bit overcomplicated!. I might have a go at it (yet again) with less foliage and what foliage there is... fading away in the background, as I rather like the simplicity of the earlier drawing... I think I'll do it as an etching as well. Hopefully by then I'll have got it right?.

2.2.07

The Hare and the New Moon.

This pen and ink study was started alongside a smaller etching (nearly completed) as well as an idea for a large welded metal head (not even nearly completed.... picture below) and shoulders sculpture. Well at least I've finished the pen and ink now to get on with the etching and the welding.

Full Moon Hare.

A nice quiet Christmas...so I got on with this one to be finished by January 1st...did it with minutes to spare. Stepped out of my studio to be greeted with the sight of a bright full moon in the sky...and thought.... "Appropriate".

13.10.06

The Sea Hare.

Just discovered the Grimms Fairytale about the "Sea Hare" which combined subject elements in the story that interested me. Raven, Fish and .... a Hare.... I thought it would be fun to to come up with an image allowing me to combine these three subjects. I know should be focusing on getting ready for various Christmas shows etc... at the moment.......but the idea really stuck in my mind.. and since when have I ever needed an excuse to go off on a tangent?

This is the drawing at it's current stage after a few hours nibbling at the idea.

Yes I do know that a "Sea Hare" is really an aquatic slug that looks like it is wearing a ballet tutu.

30.9.06

The Green Hare.

A recently completed coloured pen and ink study combining both interests in the Green Man and Hare... and a chance to finally get some use out of the pesky Columbine that "Triffid" like... annually, tries to take over the garden.

3.9.06

"Steadfastly the Hare Refused to Gaze at the Moon"

A recently completed pen and ink sketch.

12.8.06.

Newly added to the "Livestock" page "The Stone Ewe"

29.6.06.

The start of a large pen and ink sketch entitled "Running with the Hare and Hunting with the Hounds"

The picture link will take you to a page of how it progresses. Updated 3.9.06

2.6.06

New Goat etching "The Apple Bribe" added to "Livestock" page

19.5.06

"Moonrunner Hare" finished late last night..... quite pleased with it.

17.5.06

Just finished a little study called "Dusk Hare" and added to the Hares gallery there are two more coming along and I've just been introduced to a friend's daughter's cockerel called "Lucifer" who will be appearing soon in the Birds section.

Sadly... Gibson the cockerel is no more. A paralysis set in his legs.... and after a week or so I decided it was time he went to chicken heaven..... or hell .....as he was a really nasty piece of work ..... albeit totally splendid and awesome to look at..... but, preferably from the other side of the fence to him.

He was given a "Viking" funeral and it is now a lot quieter in the village.... Not for long though ...one of his widows started sitting on a clutch of eggs pre his disablement and demise... So his replacement is in hand to fill the spot in the "dawn chorus"..... chuckle ..chuckle.

11.3.06

Three new Cockerel etchings completed today...Phew!.

The scans do not pick up very well the subtle tones, particularly the reds in the combs of the birds in these 3 works but then again that's a problem for the image poachers. The "Gibson" pair show our current cockerel in residence...a Silver Laced Wyandotte ( and a homicidal maniac! ) as a youngster and as he is now .

1.1.06

Finally got around to creating a "Landscapes Miniatures" page.

8.12.05

Well its been a busy year,..... though apparently not so much etching wise. I've been mulling about doing anything but etching. No shortage of ideas and a number of plates half completed.....but the desire to do something for me personally rather than my gallery commitments has taken precidence. It is refreshing to work in other mediums. "Variety revives the spirit" as someone once said and I find that working in 3D provides me with invaluable experience and ideas galore when I resume my 2D works.

I've worked on a new hare sculpture:- "Hare Flight" which required quite intensive work, but I'm pleased with the result.

Clicking on this image will take you to its "Stages in the making page.

Ceramics

I've rediscovered... (if I ever lost it in the first place?).... my interest in Ceramics and have been making a few heads :- in which the Green Man has featured and with a passing interest in Giger's artwork, loving as I do, anything which requires detail.

An old top loading electric kiln that has been in my possession since 1979 and has been lurking at the back of the garage has proven itself invaluable and has been put to good use despite its wonky elements. Apologies to the spiders and other wildlife that had made it's home there, but my need was greater.

Hares of course have been my main interest with 3 large pen and ink studies of Hares which I appear to be evolving my own style of representing the hare:

This is a large one I am currently working on "The Irish Thruppenny Hare" which is based on the idea of the hare being asked to pose for the reverse of the Irish (pre decimal) threepenny coin. I'm really enjoying this one despite the large amount of detail it entails. Clicking on the picture will take you to a drawing stages progress page.

Working on this piece prompted me to have a go at realising this style of drawing in a 3 dimensional form in ceramics. So I started and finished this reclining hare in stoneware with oxide finishing colouration. Here are a couple of stages pictures and two of the finished piece. This piece is 14" long by 6" tall.

First forming stage.

After some fiddly work applying the fur one hair at a time.....which took a whole afternoon.

Final finished piece after firing application of black and brown oxide. Quite chuffed with it.

Started this 2nd one... currently drying.... prior to receiving its first "bisque" firing.

Bisque firing completed (21.12.05) up to 950 degrees Centigrade. Phew! what a relief , as this is a stage where you find out if there are any air pockets or faults in the piece... usually by chunks dropping off of it or large cracks appearing.

Next stage over Christmas will be to tidy up and sharpen some of the face detail using a mini grinder and its many little grindy bits that I bought ages ago and have been dying to play with...........then airbrush some black and brown oxides into and over the detail as in the previous work....Assuming I can find the airbrush.... as last I heard of it my son was going to use it to paint his newly aquired BB gun with camouflage colours.

God alone knows what state he's left it in?.

25.12.05

Well, finally fired and taken out of the kiln this Christmas Day morning. A good excuse to get out of the house whilst the kids enter their 2nd hour on their newly acquired Playstation Karoke game..... AND I don't care what everyone else says !..... I think my rendition of "Eye Of The Tiger" was absolutely brilliant!..... So I am NOT sulking.

Size 12" high by 12" length and 4.5 width.