Holding On!

This is another painting taken from one of Shelley Smart's blog, A Year at the Beach.  Thank you Shelley!

As usual I've not been blogging or visiting this past week, for which I (yet again) apologise.  And with Summer and looming holidays and sports fixtures, I keep falling behind.

But to celebrate Summer (although it's very peculiar weather we're having at the moment!), I thought I would post this one.  I loved it when I started it, but was not all that happy with the end result.  Oh well, another learning curve!

And on a final note, and I KNOW it's late, but I hope all my American and Canadian blogging friends had a great Thanksgiving.  Because it's not an event we celebrate, I tend to forget.  Sorry.

Watercolour Dabbling

Would you believe that not painting that much also means not blogging that much?  No?  Oh well, have to rethink that one!

I've been a bit hassled since I've been back - all sorts of things like my garden which is now going crazy with the start of Summer, Art Society meetings and extra teaching slots at the fabric painting place I help teach at.  Plus there's been cricket and rugby and tonight, our national soccer team, Bafana Bafana take on the mighty USA in a friendly down here at our all new Cape Town Stadium, specially built for the World Cup!  So have to watch that as well.

What has saved me somewhat, are my two art groups that I go to every week.  Even though what I've done does not please me, it's at least a start and I think I'll be getting back regularly pretty soon.

To all my blogging friends, I have visited you and forgive me if I haven't left a message.  I will be mending my ways!

These are two watercolours I did before I went away.  The first was done at a workshop and although a bit static, turned out ok.  The second I loved doing as I got both my fellow art group artists perfectly.  Totally recognisable, lost in their own painting worlds.

Back in from the Cold

Cold it was, but I had the most marvellous time meeting my two new grandchildren and catching up with the oldest one.  And it was just wonderful seeing the whole family again.

But confession time.  I haven't done any painting!  Started one or two before I went to Sweden, and have done next to nothing since I got back last Monday night.  I think I'm having an 'art-down-time' !

But what I did do was go to the National Gallery in Stockholm and these are a few of the gems that I was lucky enough to see.

Claude Monet - From the Mouth of the Schelde

Paul Cezanne - Landscape

Camille Pissarro - Landscape from Pontoise 1874

Eduoard Manet - Young Boy Peeling Banana

and a little gem almost hidden away -

Vincent van Gogh - Acacia in Flowers