Garden Journal entry

An entry and sketch in my Daily Garden Journal
(Click to enlarge and read the entry)

To me, the garden is a doorway to other worlds; one of them, of course, is the world of birds. The garden is their dinner table, bursting with bugs and worms and succulent berries.

Lighthouse Santa Cruz

Without planning, your painting will probably be indecisive and fragmented, and you'll try to say too much in one picture.
- Ron Ranson

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


"Lighthouse - Santa Cruz, California" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©

Lighthouse Sunset

“Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart”
- Confucius

My daily sketch for today...


"Lighthouse - Stormy Sunset" watercolour on Visual 140gsm - Maree©

Misty Beach

"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change -- until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds."
- Unknown

My daily sketch...


"Misty Beach" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©

Done from a photograph by Cameron Nelson. Cameron and his wife Deelia, live in Kihei, Maui, Hawaii. Cameron is a photographic artist and you can go to Cameron Nelson Photography to see some of his stunning works, or go to his BLOG for more of his works, especially weddings on the island.

Botanical - Bee in Nature

To 'bee' in nature is to experience one of our planet's most awesome gifts. Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.


My sketch for today...


"Bee In Daisy" a (not so quick) quick pencil sketch and watercolour done from a photograph by Crista from 'Nature As Is' on Daler-Rowney 190gsm - Maree©

This lovely photograph by Christa inspired me to sketch this and at first I thought the bee was going to be the difficult part, but the daisy just would not conform to the way I wanted it to go! Just goes to show...

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Spring Reflections

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
~Mark Twain

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


"Spring Reflections" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©

This sketch was inspired by Pam Johnson Brickell's 'Sunrise Surprise' - her management of watercolours is astonishing and always an inspiration.

In Memoriam - R.I.P.

I look at life as a gift of God. Now that he wants it back I have no right to complain.
---Joyce Cary

My sketch for today - in memoriam of Pappa Goose - 1991 - 2009.


"Pappa Goose" watercolour on Visual 140gsm - 05/09/09 Maree©

Pappa Goose, an Egyptian Goose, was brought to me to take care of him in 1991 - don't know how old he was - he had one gammy foot as a result of fishing gut being entangled around his leg and severing the tendons and nerves, causing his foot to pull backwards. I was lucky to have the pleasure of his presence in my life for 18 years when, finally yesterday, I had to have him euthanized because his legs were riddled with arthritis and he could hardly stand up anymore. If there is a Goose Heaven, I'm sure that's where he is now.

Onion Shell

An artist never really finishes his work, he merely abandons it.
Paul Valery

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


"Onion Shell" (family Melapiidae) - pencil sketch and watercolour in 'Journal' sketchbook - Maree©

I sketched this shell in 2002, but decided to put some colour to it yesterday.

These shells are smooth on the outside, without ridging, and have a quite flattened spire. In South Africa we have Melapium lineatum and Melapium elatum - 2 really beautiful shells. The lineatum's common name is 'Onion shell' - the shape and patterns resemble an onion.

Namaqualand Daisies

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"
~Robin Williams

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


"Namaqualand Daisies" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©

Namaqualand! 100% Big sky country. Extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the west of South Africa to the small town of Pofadder in the east, north from the great Orange River and south beyond Garies, Namaqualand is indeed a vast and varied region.

During the arid summer months it is difficult for the tourist to imagine the phenomenon of the yearly wild flower appearance.

After the winter rainfall, Namaqualand dons her coat of many colours and for a brief moment, the wildflowers invade the countryside. Countless poems, novels, paintings and prose have been dedicated to this annual shower of God's colour.




Before the flowers appear


At the end of winter

Cottage Rose

Being in nature and allowing ourselves to absorb both its gentle beauty and fierce power is a healing act. We do not have to travel far to open ourselves to this gift.
- Unknown

My sketch for today...


"Cottage Rose" watercolour on Visual 140gsm - Maree©

I did this sketch on a piece of Visual 140gsm watercolour paper - it's so thin, it just sucks up the paint and won't flow at all and once you've made a mistake, that's it, can't be fixed. Like the muddy leaf top right-hand corner - I promised myself I won't be using it again, but there you go...

And it reminds me of Ronell van Wyk's post on using greens - I've decided they are very tricky after all!

Blue Gums & Black Wattles

"I am good enough, perfect in my own special way."
A daily Affirmation

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


"Blue Gums and Black Wattle Trees" Acrylic on Bockingford 300gsm watercolour paper - Maree©

In this painting I experimented with acrylics on a good, thick Bockingford watercolour paper and decided I just LOVE how the acrylics feel on the paper. It's amazing! I think I'm falling more and more in love with this versatile medium.

These trees are on our smallholding and although we are trying to get rid of all the Black Wattles, they spring up faster than you try to eradicate them. The problem is that they produce a huge amount of seeds, which can grow in the most arid and infertile of soils. Even worse, these seeds can live up to a 90 years. And after a first clean-up, even though we have removed hundreds of trees, millions of young seedlings appear. It's basically fighting a losing battle. These evergreen trees were originally imported from Australia for our tanning industry.

Now the touchy subject: chemicals. One simply cannot get rid of Black Wattles unless you use a good herbicide. Cutting a black wattle and hoping it will die, is wishful thinking. We do not use any chemicals at all, with the result that we have an on-going battle, but which provides employment opportunities as we hire several casual workers every year to do another clean-up.


The seed pods on one branch of a Black Wattle tree


Growing habit of the Black Wattle


The flowers of the Black Wattle also causes great outbreaks of hay fever among hay fever sufferers during spring.

Unexplored

"I'm not as good as some, but better than most."
- Maree

My daily sketch for today...


"Unexplored Landscape" watercolour on Bockingford - Maree©

Life can sometimes be like a landscape. There are vast, unexplored vistas within us that will remain unseen unless we make the effort to explore our inner self and find something that we've never noticed before. Sometimes we might not like what we see, but there could also be something great and exciting, something to be cherished and, like a great landscape, inspire us.

Aloe

"Aloe" pencil sketch and watercolour - a page from my Journal - Maree©

I did this sketch of an Aloe in my garden last Friday after I had noticed that the Blackbirds were all visiting this one, and the reason was soon apparent - it was fairly dripping with nectar! The flowers always seem to produce the most nectar just as they're getting to the end of their life-span. It's their special gift to nature.


Detail of Aloe

Cone Shell

"Art is a step from what is obvious and well-known toward what is arcane and concealed."
- Kahlil Gibran

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


"Cone Shell" (Conus lividus) - pencil sketch and watercolour in 'Journal' sketchbook - Maree©

Botanical - Primula

Botanical - Primula 'Gold Lace' watercolour on Bockingford watercolour paper - Maree©

This polyanthus primula has unusual golden-eyed flowers with black petals with gold margins. Plants enjoy a position in moist, slightly acid soil in partial shade. However they can tolerate full sun if the soil remains moist at all times, but prefer slightly acidic soil in partial shade.

This plant is attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds. Requires consistently moist soil; do not allow to dry out between waterings.

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