Sketching in my area

My neighbour's house... half hidden by a huge, gnarled old Oak. I was half-way up his driveway, which is about 300m long, sketching the scene, when he came driving down in his bakkie (our term for an LDV, the 'a' being pronounced as in 'bucky', weird, but true!) - he didn't mind at all, and asked to see the sketch when it was finished, which led to him buying it when I showed it to him a week later!

Just an explanation of the long driveways - the size of our properties here in Tarlton is 8,5ha (or 21 acres or 10 morgen), which normally translates to a front width of approximately 200 meters and a depth or length of 600 meters, and most houses are either right at the back or half-way up the property. Sometimes, like ours, the house is in the front of the property, close to the road, leaving the full length of the back of the property for some farming activity.

We do not do any farming, but half of the property was planted with Eragrostis by the previous owner, a perennial grass used as fodder for horses and cattle, and plays host to a variety of birds, one being a little bird similar to the reed warbler, building it's nest by tying the long grass stalks together. A quarter is taken up by our living area and a quarter contains a Blue gum forest, planted in the early 20th Century for use by the mining industry. This forest is where I spend a great deal of time sketching the trees.

Wise Old Owl

Some wise words for 2010 :

“A wise old owl sat on an oak;
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard;
Why aren't we like that wise old bird?”


"Scops Owl" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©
{Otus senegalensis}

The African Scops Owl is a common, sometimes abundant, resident of Savannah woodland in South Africa. Scops Owls feed mostly on insects and spiders and breed in a tree cavity.

The Scops Owl is fully nocturnal and mostly insectivorous. It is a bird of scrub and bush territory, and often uses ground nest sites for breeding.

It is a small owl of only about 17cm and lays its 4-6 eggs in a tree cavity from April - June. Incubation about 27 days. Young fledge by about 30 days.

Its call is a soft croaking, frog-like "prrrup-prrrup".


Detail of Scops Owl feet


Detail of Scops Owl face

"Making A Mark" Award

A most fitting way to start a new year! Our group blog, Sketching in Nature, hosted by Cathy (Kate) Johnson, of which I am proud to say I am also a contributor, received the "Going Greener" award from Katherine Tyrrell of "Making A Mark". These awards are given out every year to artists, blogs, groups, etc.



This year, Sketching in Nature gets it for "Going Greener" - with many kind words for the contributors of Sketching in Nature.

Thank you, Katherine!

Go to MAKING A MARK for more information.

Sunrise in Tarlton

"Sunrise doesn't last all morning, a cloudburst doesn't last all day;
seems my love is up and has left with no warning -
it's not always going to be this grey.
All things must pass, all things must pass away."
- George Harrison

My first post for 2010 and I thought it fitting to start with a sunrise, depicting a new day, a new beginning, filled with hope, joy and lovely sunshine for all!


"South African Sunrise" Watercolour on a sheet of Daler Bockingford 14in x 10in watercolour paper, 90lbs (190gsm) - Maree©

At the edge of our smallholding stands this lonely little Syringa tree, and I was up early enough one morning to capture the sun rising.

I did 286 posts from April to December last year and I hope to stick to
a-sketch-or-painting-a-day pledge I made back then.

Sketching in old books

“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.”
- Martin Luther

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



Landscape done in an old soft-cover book I found lying around.

Tarlton Stream

“An ant may well destroy a whole dam.”
- Chinese Proverbs


Tarlton Stream - the slow flow through the dam - done in Amedeo 200gsm mixed media pad - Maree©

Sitting on the edge of the Tarlton "dam", I was watching as the little stream feeding it was struggling to find it's way through all the growth in the centre which has sprung up since the dam wall was broken and all the water flowed out. I was sitting in the shade of a big old Blue gum, and even as I sketched the empty dam, the feed was already slowing down to a trickle. Tomorrow it will be dry once more...

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!

Downpour

Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue.
- John Muir (1838 - 1914)

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



A quick sketch of a corner of my garden as we had a heavy down-pour the other day.

Little Stream of Hope...

“To be happy in this world, especially when youth is past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merely an isolated individual whose day will soon be over, but part of the stream of life flowing on from the first germ to the remote and unknown future.”

- Bertrand Russell

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

Tarlton Stream - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©
Size - 12" x 9"

The little stream feeding the Tarlton Dam has been dry for years, but after the recent good rains we have had, it is once again flowing, rushing forward as if looking forward to reaching its destination. Sadly, the dam will not fill up this time, as someone thought it wise to break the dam wall down and allow the water to flow into nowhere, drying up quickly as the feed slows down. It is sad that a part of Tarlton's landscape is forever changed through this action.

I did this sketch yesterday afternoon and finished it off this morning.

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Sunrise in Tarlton

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
- Martin Luther

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


Sunrise in Tarlton - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©
Size 9" x 12"

The sun rising through our Blue gum forest on Sunday morning - the flowers are a wish for the New Year!

Christmas 2009

Watercolour in Amedeo 200gsm mixed media pad - Maree©

My first Christmas of blogging in My Sketch-book here on Blogger and I'd like to wish EVERYBODY a beautiful festive season and, of course, the most stunning 2010!

This year has been a year of meeting fabulous new friends on-line, learning many interesting things and beautiful memories collected over the past year that will stay with me always!

I would like to thank everyone (and yes, that means YOU!) for making my blogging experience such a pleasure and for being so understanding and supportive of my attempts at sketching and all the lovely comments I've received will for ever stay in my heart.

Keeping an Artist's Journal

Weeds in my garden

Well, the on-line art class "Keeping an Artist's Journal", offered by Cathy Johnson, has come to an end after 5 weeks, and this was an exercise in one of the lessons where we had to explore using various techniques in your art journal. Here I used some salt on the wet foreground, making for some interesting texture.



In the above exercise I explored collage - a piece of Hessian glued onto the page and used for the foreground of this watercolour scene, with some threads pulled up to give texture to the grass.

Although I've been journaling for many years, I found Cathy's class extremely informative and organised, beautifully laid out with great in-depth detail, covering every possible aspect of keeping an art journal.

I normally have been keeping various journals for various things - a Daily Journal for my deepest, inner thoughts, in which I often sketch and paint as well; A Gratitude Journal, where I write about what I'm thankful for every day, accompanied by little sketches; a small Moleskine note-book for to-do-lists, reminders, etc; a separate Moleskine Notebook for graphite and ink sketches and a Gardening Journal, where I note progress on my garden, visiting birds, etc. It's mayhem when I want to record something, and cannot find the relevant journal quick enough!



And this habit of having many different journals comes from my love of writing and note-books and sketch-books - I just cannot walk past a Moleskine or a pretty sketch-book without buying it!

Cathy's class helped me decide to integrate virtually everything into ONE journal. My daily gratitudes are now accompanied by little sketches, my To-do-List is at the back, together with my shopping list, also with little sketches. Pencil and ink sketches are done at a whim and my gardening progress, with sketches, dried leaves, flowers and dates is also incorporated as well as all the insects, birds and wild life in my garden - all together in one place, and easy to take anywhere!


My Feint 6-Quire Daily Journal. I mostly use it as my daily thoughts journal, but also do some accompanying sketches.

The only one that I'm keeping separate, is my Daily private journal. I use a large, thick, 6-Quire Feint, much too heavy to carry around and besides which, it is lined, beautiful to write in with my Parker fountain pen and has come a long way with me, helping to clarify thoughts and work through problems.

The Rain in Tarlton

I saw in the northwest first rise, in the rose-tinted horizon sky, a dark, narrow, craggy cloud, narrow and projecting as no cloud on earth, seen against the rose-tinted sky - the crest of a thunderstorm, beautiful and grand.
- Henry David Thoreau

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


The Rain in Tarlton - watercolour 16" x 12" (41cm x 30cm)
For sale

We had a lovely down-pour a couple of weeks ago, and as the rain moved on, the sun appeared, shining brightly on the surrounding landscape. The contrast was beautiful and luckily I could capture it before it disappeared.

Magaliesburg Hotel

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.
- John Muir (1838 - 1914)

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


Water feature at Magaliesburg Hotel dining area - watercolour in Moleskine Watercolour sketch-book - Maree©

Had supper at the Magaliesburg Hotel 3 weeks ago, sitting outside under the thatch next to this little water feature. Luckily I had my Moleskine sketch-book with me, so I quickly captured this in between sips of my glass of wine.

Cosmos on the road

There’s nobody living who couldn't stand all afternoon in front of a waterfall .... Anyone who can sit on a stone in a field awhile can see my painting. Nature is like parting a curtain, you go into it .... as you would cross an empty beach to look at the ocean.
- Agnes Martin

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


Farm in Magaliesburg - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 12" x 8.5" - Maree©
For Sale

Every time we go to Magaliesburg, as we come over one of the hills, the Farm of Maloney's Eye stretches over the horizon, the sun casting golden shadows on the fields. This is also the place where the Magalies River originates, bubbling through the earth, forming a swampy area covered in the most exotic ferns and trees, rising up from the deep depths of the Sterkfontein Caves about 15kms away. As we drove past, the Cosmos was standing fresh and tall after a lovely down-pour.

I did this sketch from memory.

Moon - Waning Gibbous

Moon - Waning Gibbous 5th Dec 2009 - South Africa, Southern Hemisphere - Maree©

The moon was 84% of full tonight, and waning, peeking through the rain clouds after a lovely downpour. I decided to try and sketch it, but substituted half of the black tree-lined foreground with water. This was my first attempt at sketching at night and quite a new experience for me!