Friendship isn't a big thing...

... it's a million little things.

::

The original is a birthday card sent to a very special friend. 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - card size 

::

A State of Consciousness

A landscape, like a book, is a state of consciousness varying with readers.

W&N watercolour on DalerRowney 190g/m² sketching paper

There is a chilly whisper in the breeze reminding us that winter will soon be here. We've really had a cold past two weeks, but today the sun is shining brightly, the temperature is in the middle 20C's and it's now turning into that blissful time of year when it's a joy to be outside in nature before we settle indoors to sit out the winter. It's still very green here in Tarlton, I mean, we've had April showers!

::

So, IF YOU NEED ME...
I’ll be somewhere outside,
soaking up those last few rays
of autumn sun…
what are you up to?

::

In my imagination...

“In my imagination I can see what the eyes cannot see. I can hear what the ears cannot hear. I can feel what the heart cannot feel.”
- Peter Nivio Zarlenga



Watercolour on X-pressit 300gsm

And Einstein said, "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." 

How often do you, as an artist, work purely from imagination? I have found that, the next best thing to painting en plein air, is to paint from my imagination. Sometimes I do have an image in my mind, but most of the time it's just letting the colour flow and watching what emerges. And I'm sure that much of our 'imagination' is fueled by what we have experienced in the past, but it can also be a wonderful journey into the new and unexpected...

::

Passion - your path to success,

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”

 ~ Goethe 

W&N watercolour on X-pressit 300gsm 

I have found that you can bring greater joy, financial flow, and deep fulfillment into your life through a business that is aligned with your highest path, something that you are totally passionate about. 

It's all too easy to pick a career in order to make enough money to "someday quit and do what you really want to do". Education or even talent aren’t worth much without passion. So do the stuff that you love and you've always wanted to do because without it, you'll feel stuck and unfulfilled. 

Whatever journey your path takes you on, the most important thing is to have passion in what you do. So the answer is to have complete clarity on what is most deep and meaningful to you right now. "Our passion exists in the space of awe and amazement that we so willingly stepped into as a child. We can not see our dreams, know our true calling, hear our true voice when we look with a sense of desperation, impatience or doubt. Only looking with Eyes of Awe will its radiance greet you and invite you to play with it." 

From "Finding your Passion" by Keri Coffman-Thiede

Successful people have made an important discovery - that the journey itself is even more important than the goal. So choose how you want to spend your life - choices made with intention bring peace.

::

 

On the other side of the fence

W&N watercolour on grey cardboard 

The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. When crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you may be. 

- Robert Fulghum 

 How true that saying is that the grass is greenest where it is watered – the same as with any lawn or garden, if we don’t tend to our life and our relationships, soon everything will be barren and dead… 

 A friend’s driveway on their farm – Magaliesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.

::

 

Dominion

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.” 

- Unknown 

 Pencil, Ink and wash sketch on Bockingford 300gsm 

Renowned for its majesty and nicknamed "the king of the jungle," the lion possesses both beauty and strength. For me their eyes are their most striking feature and can speak volumes. Looking straight into the eyes of a lion is a deeply moving experience and when that happened to me during my one-and-only, EVER, visit to a zoo, I saw disdain, don't-actually-care, boredom and a deep sorrow that will stay with me for life. To me, zoo's are akin to pet shops. Some people might argue they serve a purpose, but that's a discussion I'd rather not enter into. 

::

I am the Earth

W&N watercolour on smooth cardboard - no preliminary sketching 

A rocky outcrop on the way to Magaliesburg (Gauteng, South Africa) - I have walked to the top of this little hillock just to have a look at all the rocks, makes one wonder what forces of Mother Nature were at work to have scattered them here....

::