Enter these enchanted woods

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Enter these enchanted woods – Ye who dare

.

A Forest Path

Mixed Media - Coffee and W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm

The sound
Of silence

::

Multiple
Shades
Of green
And other hue

::

An
Approaching mist
Above a forest path
- Liam ó Comáin

Country Diary - From the Forest

I know no subject more elevating, more amazing, more ready to the poetical enthusiasm, the philosophical reflection, and the moral sentiment than the works of nature. Where can we meet such variety, such beauty, such magnificence?
- James Thomson

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

Ink, wash and collage in my Moleskine 200gsm "Country Diary"

This is the second in the series Country Diary, which consists of paintings, sketches and collages depicting nature, rural and farm life.

A couple of months ago I collected some leaves and acorns from a friend's tree (unfortunately I don't have an Oak any more and I really miss him) and it's amazing how well they dry and stay preserved. I actually have them displayed on a wooden bowl and they absolutely last for ever. A bit difficult to dust! but well worth the effort!

Gone to the forest

“This is what I believe: That I am I. That my soul is a dark forest. That my known self will never be more than a little clearing in the forest. That gods, strange gods, come forth from the forest into the clearing of my known self, and then go back. 'That I must have the courage to let them come and go. That I will never let mankind put anything over me, but that I will try always to recognize and submit to the gods in me and the gods in other men and women.' There is my creed.”

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 Arches 300gsm - 10" x 7"

I was feeling a bit down the other day and decided the best remedy is to paint.

Forest drama

Forest Drama - Watercolour in Moleskine Watercolour Sketch-book - 5" x 8"

Winter here in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa) is always dramatic and spectacular. Once the green fields of summer turn yellow and dry, and after the veld fires have swept the landscape, we are left with gorgeous contrasts of greens, blacks and browns, starkly contrasting with the bright blue of winter skies.

Despite our fire breaks and the fact that our grass had been cut, our smallholding did not escape the ravages of the veld fires this year - it swept through our property in the small hours of the morning, leaving a charred landscape in its wake and the acrid smell of smoke in the air.

I took a walk down to the Blue Gum forest at the bottom of our smallholding (8.5ha), and did this sketch of some trees that had been caught in the fire, a drama that plays itself out year after year.

Gum Forest 8

If you reveal your secrets to the wind you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.
- Khalil Gibran

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


"Gum Forest 8" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree© (no sketching)
Size : 5.5" x 7.5"

(This Series is for sale on my SALES BLOG)

The eighth and last sketch in the Gum Forest series where I've been experimenting with not doing any preliminary sketches before painting, just putting colour directly onto the paper and seeing what develops. This cool palette would also look lovely in a sepia frame and will display well together with No. 1 in the Gum Series.