JUST ME :: and a stack of blank pages

:: Living creatively ::

About me

This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realise it is play. The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is. I’m here to tell you that the path to peace is right there, when you want to get away. When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it. If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life. That is very serious!

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Panthera pardus

 

Watercolour pencils on Amadeo 200gsm

Not only is the Leopard powerful, graceful and arguably one of the most beautiful of all the large cats and a master of stealth and survival, it seems she can teach us a thing or two about relaxing!


Here a Leopard (Panthera pardus) relaxes after a successful hunt. Did you know that leopard spots are called rosettes? Leopards are secretive, solitary animals and also the smallest of all the big cats.



Sunday, October 15, 2023

The road West

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm with a couple of ink scribbles

Taking the road West from us and going from Rustenburg towards Botswana, the landscape suddenly changes from bushveld to a somewhat dry and arid landscape, especially in winter, when everything turns to lovely yellow and brown hues.

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Wednesday, October 11, 2023

The Foal That Never Grew


W&N Watercolour om Bockingford 300gsm

I stand before the early dawn
Alone with my thoughts before the morn’
Remembering the night when all was dark
Not even the sound of a lonely dogs bark
When three of us in a stable small
Tried in vain to assist, the night before
A brave little mother who gave her all
To give life to her first born.
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I remember the pleasure that turned to pain
Reflected in the eyes of your loving master
As he tried again and again
Working faster and faster coaxing your heart
Hoping and praying that you won’t depart
He took one last deep breath, blew into your nose
Only to discover your beautiful eyes were closed.
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If horses become angels
And I’m sure they do
You’ll know that you are one of the few
To be touched by loving hands
Who had great plans for you
Race on little foal, across your golden sands
And as your free spirit soars high into the sky
Your master bids you farewell, and a last goodbye.
--Sue Eggersglusz

Saturday, October 7, 2023

Geranium or Pelargonium?

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Geraniums originated from South Africa, as well as Reunion, Madagascar, Egypt and Morocco and were introduced to European countries such as Italy, Spain and France in the 17th century. 

Actually, the plants that gardeners have grown under the geranium name for several hundred years is not a geranium, but a pelargonium. Both plants, as well as a few others, are all members of the geraniaceae family. 
The problem arose when the plants were first brought from their native home of South Africa into Europe. All the early imports were labeled “geraniums” and continued under that blanket name for many years. When some observant botanists finally started a closer examination of these lovely new plants, they discovered many differences and then decided that the imports were not all the same plant type, but there were differences so were then moved into different named classifications. 

One group of plants was given the original name of geraniums. A second group was classified as pelargoniums, then there were erodiums and sarcocaulons/monsonias. The plant we label “geranium” was put into the pelargonium category, however, it had become a well loved plant of gardeners in Europe under the old “geranium” label so although the botanists told them that the lovely pot or bedding plant they grew in such numbers was a pelargonium, they persisted in using the old name. 

I’m now more confused than ever! 

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Saturday, September 30, 2023

Blue gum fantasy

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm in small sketch-book
Blue gum trees on our smallholding (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa) I must just mention that we no longer live in Tarlton, but her colour-palette is forever etched into my mind. 

Blue gum eucalyptus, Eucalyptus globulus to the botanists, have been a part of the South African landscape since the Gold Rush, long enough that legends have sprung up about how they first made it to the country. The usual story is that 19th Century gold miners encouraged planting of the trees as a quick-growing source of quality lumber, then were disappointed to find out that South African-grown eucs produce wood unsuitable for much besides rough fenceposts and firewood.

The stories have some factual basis: there was a speculative eucalyptus-planting rush in the first years of the 20th Century, with people planning uses from fine furniture to rot-resistant railroad ties. And the home-grown trees, which grew far more quickly than their Australian counterparts, did not turn out to make lousy timber! The logs were extensively used in our mining industry and to this day they are still popular as fence posts and roof timber.

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