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!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Time to Retreat

"You know... they say an elephant never forgets.
What they don't tell you is, you never forget an elephant."
- Actor Bill Murray

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

W & N Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Still on my quest for painting elephants! This one was done from a RedBubble friend's photograph (Alma) and this I really enjoyed! Another RedBubble friend, Sue Nicholl, also did a sketch of the same photograph, and you can see that HERE.

The name "Time to Retreat" stems from Alma's experience with a charging elephant cow on their visit to the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

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Thursday, June 16, 2011

Gentle Giant

“Keep five yards from a carriage, ten yards from a horse, and a hundred yards from an elephant; but the distance one should keep from a wicked man cannot be measured.”
- Indian Proverb

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!


I've been on a bit of an 'elephant spree' for a while, and this one is acrylics on a 12" x 8" un-stretched acrylic sheet. I really enjoyed just wildly doing the colour for the back-ground and then did a light sketch of the elephant on top of that, letting it slowly take shape as I added the grey.

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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Africa's Wonder

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!



“Let a Person Walk Alone With Few Wishes, Committing No Wrong, Like an Elephant in the Forest.”

Africa’s wild animals are a constant source of inspiration and for me elephants symbolise Strength, Solitude, sense of loyalty to the family and Intelligence. Looking into the eye of an elephant, one sees Wisdom beyond our understanding.

I sketched this young elephant on a visit to the Elephant Sanctuary Hartebeespoort Dam where they provide a “halfway house” for young African elephants in need of a temporary home.

Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 16” x 12”