Jemma - Sold

During my housesitting week in Greyton, I had the privilege to get to know Jemma, a really gentle, kind, elderly Boxer. Her greatest pleasure in life was to go for her daily walk which also did me the world of good. The wonderful thing about staying in a village like Greyton, is that they don't have burglar bars or alarm systems or anything that makes you feel fearful. As a result, Jemma's job of guarding the house was a very easy one. I enjoyed painting this picture of her, and hope you enjoy it too.

Eye to Eye 18" x 24"

Another painting of my grandson, this time at Spier in Stellenbosch. I know the purists don't like to paint from photographs, but the unposed nature of the picture appealed to me. And besides, to get a child of 6 years old to stand still for 20 seconds would be a major feat!

My Views - Selection Day

Thank you to both Carol Hadfield (The Art of It) and Di McNaughton (The Art of Intuitive Painting) for their insights into the vagaries of the Selection Day. I must admit I was a little taken aback by the selection - some magnificent paintings were given very low scores and therefore did not make the 'cut'. Although I was lucky enough to have one painting chosen, I thought that I needed to give up art as I simply wasn't good enough. But then (thank you Di), I paint for me and how I feel and not for judges who, because they are human after all, must judge what they see from their subjective point of view. This is the one they chose. It's called 'Penguin Spotting'

Greyton

Had a very relaxing time in Greyton. My first visit to the town and I thoroughly enjoyed it, not knowing what to expect and despite the negative comments of some old time visitors who believe the upsurge in housing developments has spoilt the place. Needless to say, I took all my painting paraphernalia and did very little actual painting. Took lots of pictures though and thought I would post a few. Here they are -

The Aquarium 18"x24"

My grandson has become a model for me. When the family was here in Cape Town in December, they went all over the place, and the reference for this painting was taken in the aquarium at the Waterfront.

Cake Mix

At the end of June, armed with a small 10"x12" canvas, I took myself off to class and asked my teacher, Margie Johnson, to please guide me through a still life. My mind always went blank when the words 'still life' were mentioned - I never saw the point of painting a couple of old pots, cups and a bunch of flowers! But I thought I had to try and the little brown one, which has never been named, is the result.

Since then I have done another one of which I am quite proud. This one does have a name - Cake Mix - and was done on a slightly bigger canvas 12"x16". Every item was white, but mine didn't quite turn out that way.

Beaded Beads

I have always loved working with my hands, whether it was knitting, potting or just digging in the garden. Painting has always been there, but I never (a) had the time, or (b) thought I was good enough. Now I've realised, you create because you want to, and not for what anybody else thinks of you. One of the elements of creating that I really like is beading. I do it simply because I like it - I never wear jewellery, so I now help my teacher, Maré Abbott by putting together the work she visualises. If you would like to join her classes, e-mail her at tigandme@mweb.co.za. Classes are held in Cape Town, but she does teach in Johannesburg and Durban. Here are just two examples of firstly, beaded beads and the second is based on a Zulu rope design.

Blue Jeans 18"x24" - SOLD

This Thursday past, the SA Society of Artists had their annual Eleanor Palmer competition and it seemed that hundreds and hundreds of paintings were entered. This was my contribution - a portrait of my friend, Carol Hadfield's daughter, Tracey. I called it Blue Jeans.

Seagulls & Lobster pots

I love the sea. To paint, that is, not to swim in. I'm an earth sign and like my feet on the ground, so swimming in the sea is not my favourite thing. Needless to say I have done quite a few seascapes in acrylic, watercolour, but, so far, only one in oil. These are some of them.

The top one is the watercolour of the lobster pots, a project taken from Leisure Painter magazine, the acrylic of the two seagulls is from a photograph taken at Muizenberg here in Cape Town whilst the 3 gulls come from a magazine. The last one is the oil - taken from my head and number of other sources.

Moonrise, Misty River, Boots

When I first started painting last year, my medium of choice was acrylic. I loved the ability to use lots of paint and get texture with huge dollops of paint on the surfaces of my paintings. I gradually learnt to temper my enthusiasm and to moderate my painting techniques.
And then I decided to do watercolours. I have always loved watercolour work and decided to try my hand at it. The first results were the little pics of the archway, harbour and window box, plus the two just posted. The seascape of the moonlight (3rd pic) is possibly the very first watercolour I did. I then discovered oils and that certainly took up my time and effort just learning to deal with the medium.

My efforts with watercolour went by the wayside. Until this year when I scratched through my watercolour box and decided to try my hand again. The two pics at the top are the result. The boots are Margie Johnson's, as part of a still life, and the water one comes from a pic from a magazine.

Peony Posy, French Village

Whilst doing an early spring clean of my painting/ sewing/ beading room, I came across these two little watercolours that I had done at the same time as the Harbour, archway and window box, so I thought I'd put them up as well.

For my Son 18"x24"

It's my son, Howard's, birthday tomorrow and this is the 'gift' I will be taking to the family when I make my way over to Sweden in February next year. I really enjoyed painting my grandson and thanks to Margie Johnson for her guidance.

The Fisherman, Desert Trees, Seascape

Sunday morning and great to relax after a hectic weekend. Friday morning was a return to our social painting group at the Frank Joubert Art School in Newlands after a two week (school holiday) break. It really was nice to be back socialising, drinking tea and, yes, painting as well. I use this time as catch-up - I have too many unfinished paintings that don't seem to get done and Friday morning is a perfect opportunity to work with like minded people! I was looking through some of my paintings from a year ago (that's when I started) and I've gone from the 'not so good' to the 'improving daily' phase. I started with acrylics in Philip Glazer's classes (where I met some lovely people), but am now firmly 'dedicated' to oils. These are some of the first acrylics I did!

Window in France, Archway

Well I think I'm slowly getting the hang of this blogging thing. After spending all those years in advertising, working with a computer the whole day, this should be a doddle. But it's as though the whole computer/working/stress overload process was wiped from my brain cell overnight. Anything electronic and I phone my son who lives in Sweden, and the exasperation in his voice is quite clear. Anything computer challenging, and I refer to my sister (who in turn refers it to my son in Sweden if she can't do it!) The little watercolour pic I posted on my first attempt, was accompanied by another two. All three were done whilst sitting in front of the television watching cricket. Here are the other two.

Beadwork

Thought, as a signing off of my blogging efforts this evening, I would show a sample of a beaded necklace done in the most exciting orange, purple and green colours - or as my beading expert, Maree would say "bont colours". Each little triangle is individually beaded and then those triangles are strung together. All very time consuming, but the end result is so worth it. In days to come, and when I get used to this new venture (for me!) I will post more beading projects.

Harbour - pen and wash

This is one of three small watercolours that I decided to try. At this stage all my teaching was coming from books - not the ideal way to go, but a start at least. The darkness of the little drawing appealed to me.

Fire and Water (with Heather Selby)

This is one of the first paintings I was involved with. Heather Selby, a professional painter of note, guided me through the intricacies of using a palette knife. Her generosity with her time and her patience, made the process even more enjoyable.