December, a month of madness!

December has been a month of total madness! My daughter got married on the 11th in Mauritius and the trip was long in the planning, excitement reigned! I had no time for painting apart from a short trip to the Krugersdorp Game Reserve in the last week of November, where I managed to get a couple of photographs of some Springbuck that were quite close to the road and sketched one of them when we got home.

So let me also take this opportunity of wishing you a happy festive season and a wonderful Christmas!

Along the Oxford Canal 1989

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm
An old bridge over a stream in Oxfordshire, UK

Way back in 1989 I undertook a trip to England to visit my parents-in-law and on one of our trips to Oxfordshire (the old people dragged me all over the country, proudly showing off all the wonderful sites!), I painted this quiet scene while we had a picnic lunch next to the Oxford Canal.

A 1989 landscape

Watercolour in a 200gsm sketchbook

After I got married in 1970, not much art was happening in my life. Newly married, a baby to tend to and a house we were building seemed to take up all of my precious time. I did do the odd sketch here and there, but in the late 80's, after my daughter had flown the coop, I sort of got back into painting again, often taking my sketchbook with me on one of my weekly walks and just taking in the scene around me. This one was done at a dam not far from our property.

Welcome to my art blog!

I've taken the plunge and decided to post my art on line. I've been sketching an painting since early childhood and it is something that has been part of my life forever it seems. So this will be a record of my journey through the art world.

It's only fitting that I start with a sketch I did in 1955 at the age of 11, one of the few that I've managed to keep over the years. During my many moves and travels as a young adult, I managed to lose all my childhood journals, all my silver and gold diplomas I received at art shows and all the rest of my art work. So this one as a bit special to me, and you will excuse me for boring you with such a bland first entry!