Two daisies

Bright flowers, whose home is everywhere

Bold in maternal nature’s care

And all the long year through the heir

Of joy and sorrow,

Methinks that there abides in thee

Some concord with humanity,

Given to no other flower I see

The forest through.

- William Wordsworth

Acrylic on primed canvas panel – 9″ × 12″

Some left-over blue paint from my palette when I did the lighthouse. I couldn't just waste the paint so  I was off on a new adventure again with my acrylics! 

Two daisies from my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa) in a blue bottle on my kitchen table.

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Light after the storm

There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm. 

- Willa Cather

Acrylic on Giverny 240gsm acrylic paper

One of my few forays into acrylics.

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The duel of the warring clouds

Hath ended with the day

Their scintillant, electric blades

Have ceased their fearful play;

The pent up fury of their hate.

Hath found at last release,

And o’er the tempest-stricken earth

Broods now the hush of peace...

- Unknown

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Winter in Summer

“When you are older, you realise that everything else is just nothing compared to painting and drawing.”
— David Hockney

W&N watercolour in my Moleskine 200gsm nature sketchbook

Just as we thought winter had finally ended, we had freezing weather come up from the Cape with temperatures dropping to 12℃. That was on Saturday. Today it's starting to return to normal with beautiful sunshine and no wind. Nature certainly can be unpredictable...

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An African moon

Black ink sketch using Pilot Calligraphy Lettering pen and Artline200 black fine-point pen on DaleRowney 220gsm heavy-duty sketching paper

It was full moon last night and when I switched off the garden lights, my garden was bathed in a golden glow… and I could’ve sworn I saw the fairies hiding under the mushrooms... 

One website explains the full moon thus, “The moon and sun are on a line, with Earth in between. It’s as though Earth is the fulcrum of a see-saw, and the moon and sun are sitting on either end of the see-saw. Thus as the sun sets in the west, the full moon rises. When the sun is below our feet at midnight, the full moon is highest in the sky. When the sun rises again at dawn, the full moon is setting.”

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The first rain

“The rain to the wind said,

'You push and I’ll pelt.'

They so smote the garden bed

That the flowers actually knelt,

And lay lodged—though not dead.

I know how the flowers felt.”

― Robert Frost

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

14th September 2013 

Step outside after the first storm after a dry spell and it invariably hits you: the sweet, fresh, powerfully evocative smell of fresh rain. 

We’ve had our first rain of the season here in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa), and the world has suddenly turned from brown and dusty to green and sparkling clean! And nothing on earth smells better than rain on our African soil!

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A Tabby superb!

“With their qualities of cleanliness, discretion, affection, patience, dignity, and courage, how many of us, I ask you, would be capable of becoming cats?”
- Fernand Mery

W&N watercolour and Parker Fountain pen, Black Quink ink, on Visual 200gsm

 – In memory of my cat “Smewsy”, whom we were honoured enough to have in our lives for 13 years 

We all know the superstition about a black cat crossing your path. It is said that, to reverse the bad luck curse of a black cat crossing your path, first walk in a circle, then go backward across the spot where it happened and count to 13! Here are some more superstitions about cats.

• Dreaming of white cat means good luck – American superstition
• To see a white cat on the road is lucky – American superstition
• It is bad luck to see a white cat at night – American superstition
• If a cat washes behind its ears, it will rain – English superstition
• A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity – Scottish superstition
• A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it – Italian superstition
• A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means cold weather ahead – English superstition
• When moving to a new home, always put the cat through the window instead of the door, so that it will not leave – American superstition
• When you see a one-eyed cat, spit on your thumb, stamp it in the palm of your hand, and make a wish. The wish will come true – American superstition
• In the Netherlands, cats were not allowed in rooms where private family discussions were going on. The Dutch believed that cats would definitely spread gossips around the town – Netherlands superstition

The pencil sketch before I added colour

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This Blue Gum

This blue gum tree greets me every morning as I open my studio curtains. She is always there. She has always been there, for the past ten years. She's the one I sit and stare at when I'm pondering or deep in thought. I've watched her swaying in heavy winds, watched as limbs have broken off and watched as veld fires have swept her base.

She stands across the road from our property, probably about 20m tall and offers a safe haven for all the birds in the area. I've watched as baby crows have fledged from her branches and yet, I've never looked at her properly.

Today I decided to look at her, with new eyes, and paint her.

I think she's wonderful. 

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