Friday, March 6, 2009

Kallis

Well, I'm now back in sunny South Africa and what a temperature shock it's been. Leaving Stockholm airport at minus 5 deg C (that's 23 deg F in old money!) and arriving back in Cape Town to soaring temperatures of 38 deg C (100.4 deg F)! These first two days at home have been sweltering and the news has been that fires have destroyed one of the wine farms in Paarl and are still raging in the area. Yesterday we couldn't see Table Mountain because of all the smoke blowing through from the countryside. I know I miss the family, but with this heat, a little bit of that snow (a teeny bit!) .... maybe that would be nice as well.

But one of the nice things about coming back home is that I can now watch the cricket and rugby again. So, to celebrate that fact, I am posting a painting I did just before I left, of one our "boys" who is a household name right around the cricketing world, Jacques Kallis.

It is also a sort of celebratory painting as it was done just as he achieved his 10 000th test run in world cricket. He is the only Test cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 10 000 runs AND 250 wickets. He also has over 10 000 runs in One Day Internationals.

Hope you like it.

23 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm glad you're back home Liz! I love this painting. I don't know too much about cricket except there are usually good looking men like this one playing....

Charlene Brown said...

Glad you're back, but sorry to hear about the fires. I loved to watch the clouds slide over the mountains when we were in Cape Town in January about 12 years ago, and I hate to think the 'Tablecloth' consists largely of smoke right now. That's a wonderful action painting, BTW, which pretty well sums up everything I learned about the game from occasionally watching cricketers practicing in Dubai -- I never had a clue what they were going to do next, but I noticed they always looked great.

Marian Fortunati said...

Gosh this is terrific Liz... I can almost hear the crack of the bat... Or is it called a stick...
Anyway... great painting and action!!

Glad you're back.

Thanks for your comments about my FIRE post just recently... Fires can really be horrifying. Today's news here was the murder conviction of the arsonist who started several fires south of here that killed several people.

Anyway... happy to have you back to blogging.

James Parker said...

Liz, it's good to see ya back from the cold. Dropped by to say thanks for visiting and hop on your blogalog. There's an old saying in the States that when something is not right, then it's said to be "not cricket". This painting is definitely cricket. Nice work.

Ramesh Jhawar said...

Hi Liz!Glad you are back from the chilly winter.I was missing your comments,honestly.This is a wonderful painting.The proportions are correct,the action, fantastic and the background,lovely.Though I'm not an ardent fan of cricket,I know almost all the cricketers and Kallis is one of my favourites!

Ajay Patil said...

Jack Kallis- true allrounder and fitting tribute from you.
I used to follow cricket religiouslyu but some how stopped following after all those match fixing controversies. Attack on Srilankan team makes things even worse

Arti said...

Great painting, Liz...about cricket, I share my views with ajay...But as for the art, its a good piece!Welcome back.

Saundra Lane Galloway said...

Liz, Glad you are safely back home, although I am sorry to hear about the fires. Years ago he had a burn that destroyed thousands of acres...it is a sad state. But, what isn't sad is your painting...VERY NICE! Figures are a tough challenge for me, so I always enjoy seeing how others can execute them so wonderfully!

Art with Liz said...

I remember your comment about the uniforms Sheila and thought about you when I posted this. Thanks for the generous words.


Gosh Charlene, 12 years ago? Time for a return visit. Fortunately TM wasn't burning, just disappeared in the smoke. Today it's behind its good old cloud. Thank you for your kind words. Cricket is a hard game to understand unless you've been brought up with it like I have.

Art with Liz said...

Bat is right Marian! And the sticks behind the guy are called wickets!

It's always great to hear when they catch an arsonist - the damage to property and the environment that these people cause, is beyond belief. And thank you, despite the heat and missing the family, I am glad to be back.


Hi James, thank you for being so kind. I love your blog - you have a terrifically weird sense of humour! Now you know where that saying comes from - it's simply not cricket, deah!

Art with Liz said...

Hello Ramesh. Thank you so much. I tried to keep up with everything when I was overseas, but it's not quite the same as home. Although you may not follow cricket, you know the game and understand the action that I've portrayed. And Kallis is just the most elegant player.


Those match fixing days were awful Ajay, but thank goodness they are now well in the past. And the fact that you know so much about Kallis, maybe you should start watching again. The India/NZ tests have been worth following and I can catch up again now that I'm back. (Check out WI/England). And thank you for your wonderful comment on the painting.


Hi Arti, thank you for the welcome and the words and the visit.

Art with Liz said...

Thank you Saundra. I guess when you live in countries such as yours with vast tracts of forest land, fires are inevitable. But as you say, it is so sad to see the damage they cause. Fortunately nature is very resilient and, as Marian has depicted, soon you see the new shoots appearing.

Unknown said...

Hi Miss Liz! I love all the new things you've added to your blog. Your slideshow of paintings is amazing, you have such a substantial body of work.

Cathy Gatland said...

Hi Liz - welcome back! This is a terrific painting, and so typical of Jacques Kallis - The cricket match at the moment is a bit of a sorry affair for SA - but hope springs eternal... maybe going to Newlands will inspire them back to winning form. I'm so sad about the fires - hard to believe people start them on purpose.

Barbara Pask said...

Really wonderful painting Liz. So sorry to hear of the fires, stay safe.

Peggy Montano & Paintings said...

Welcome home, Liz.
I don't know anything about cricket but sure do like this action figure.

Art with Liz said...

Hello Nancy and the Fatties! Thank you for that!


Thank you Cathy - he's still a great cricketer and yes, I think the whole of SA is in mourning at the moment. But still one more day to to, and, as we know, anything can happen.


Thank you for your kind words Barbara. I'm quite far from the fires, but the smoke does get here. All those grapes and even sadder still, all the chameleons that live on the vines - all gone.


Thanks Peggy. One day cricket may get to America! You do have a cricket team you know! And a rugby one!


Thank you everyone for the welcome home. It's so great knowing there are so many wonderful, caring people out there. And they are all fantastic artists!

Mineke Reinders said...

I don't know the first thing about cricket, but your painting is fabulous! Sorry to hear about the first, it must be very distressing to come back to that. Hope you are safe.

simoart said...

Hi Liz
Wonderful painting, amazing your ability to captured the sport. Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Lovely action painting. My husband really misses cricket. Our American friends just don't get it. Most think it is a very boring game.

Art with Liz said...

Mineke, comments from you always make me feel so proud. Thank you. The fires have been bad, but they are apparently under control now. A bit of cooler weather and some rain would be nice.


Thank you Arthur. One day I hope to be able to paint from my imagination as you do.


Hello Jean. Next week I'll be sitting at Newlands for 5 days watching that 'boring' game! If I get a chance between overs, maybe I can also sketch a few of the more exciting moments. Tell your hubby I feel really sorry for him. Four weeks was long enough for me!

SharonWrightArtist said...

Sounds like you had great time in Sweden, but glad to be home despite the fires. That certainly is from one extreme to the other!
Excellent painting, love the colours.
I have no idea what happened to your comments on my blog,sorry, but there seems to be no problem now.

Angela Elledge said...

Hello Liz - I'm dropping in to say hello; thank you so much for visiting my blog. There' s so much wonderful stuff here, I know I'll be back soon to see your beautiful paintings...and learn about cricket :).
Take care.