Reflections

Everyone and everything that shows up in our life is a reflection of something that is happening inside of us.
- Alan Cohen

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


"Reflections" - Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 8" x 12" (A4)

After all the coffee painting I've done (and there are more to follow!), I craved the good flow of my familiar and beloved watercolours and here I really just played with my colours wet-in-wet, with no preliminary sketching, enjoying the interaction of the colours and watching the picture appear! Nothing like watercolours! Whoot whoot!

Road through Broederstroom

“The road leading to a goal does not separate you from the destination; it is essentially a part of it.”
- Charles de Lint

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



This is the road to Harties through Broederstroom, a village located in the foothills of the Magaliesberg, 35km from Pretoria (South Africa), situated on the Crocodile River (where I sketched the open gate) and overlooking Hartebeespoort Dam from the East side.

The many routes we have as an option to Harties are equally as fabulous as the destination. Leaving the tar road, there is this short-cut over the mountain and virtually only fit for off-road vehicles, but the scenery and the wild life crossing our path more than makes up for such a bumpy ride.

Well-guarded Secret

“Secrets are made to be found out with time.”
- Charles Sanford

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


Watercolour in my Moleskine Folio 200gsm Watercolour sketch-book - 12" x 8" - Maree©

About 20 kilometers down the road from us, lies the area of Honingklip, a rural area now densely populated as progress has spread slowly but surely from Roodepoort (Gauteng, South Africa) on its way West towards Tarlton. Twenty years ago this area was still "in the country", now it's a stone's throw from major highways and shopping centres.

Yet, not far off the main road, lies this hidden little secret - a beautiful pond known only to the most avid of fishermen and lovers of nature. Sitting on the grass at the edge of the pond, one can hardly believe that you're just minutes from civilisation, as Reed Cormorants dry themselves on the branches of an old, dead tree and ducks serenely cruise the water, ever on the lookout for something to eat.

We visited here not so long ago, and as the men sat chatting and enjoying their beers, I sketched a corner of the scene.

Zulu huts

*"Ukuph' ukuziphakela." (Giving is to dish out for oneself).
- Zulu proverb

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


Zulu Huts - watercolour in Moleskine Folio 200gsm watercolour sketchbook - 12" x 8.5" - Maree©

As one descends down Van Reenen's pass at Harrismith in the Free State, South Africa, you enter the hills and valleys of KwaZulu Natal, known as the Zulu Kingdom, home to the Zulu people. Here you will find traditional Zulu huts dotting the country side, set amongst peaceful, green hills, waving grasslands, abundant forests, with an unhurried lifestyle and a soil imbued with the strength of the Zulu nation who fought for this land. Here one can visit a Sangoma (traditional healer), watch a rural wedding ceremony and experience Zulu hospitality.

Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and all pieces of territory that made up the homeland of KwaZulu. In the 1830s the northern part was the Zulu Kingdom and southern part was briefly a Boer republic called Natalia (from 1839 until 1843). In 1843 the latter became the British Colony of Natal, though Zululand (KwaZulu in Zulu) remained independent until 1879.

Located in the south-east of the country, it borders three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho, along with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg and its largest city is Durban.

This is done from memory on my numerous trips down to the North Coast through this beautiful part of our country.

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From my series of "South African Landscapes" and "Ethnic South Africa" on RedBubble