Cosmos in December

 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Here in South Africa we know Christmas is near when the Hydrangeas and Cosmos start flowering – Every March and November respectively our countryside explodes with colour when pretty pink and white cosmos flowers bloom in early autumn and then again in late summer. They grow easily in the soil at the side of the roads disturbed by the road scrapers widening the verges. This year the Cosmos are a bit late as the road crews have not been around yet.

Hope you had a lovely festive season!

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Another Windpomp and a dam

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A ‘windpomp’ (windmill) in Magaliesburg. They are such a part of our countryside here in South Africa and they play a specially important part in dry areas like the Karoo where both humans and animals are very dependent on them for water. 

These windmills extract the life blood of the earth and it is usually poured into a cement dam close-by the windpomp. Many farm children swim in these cement dams on sweltering days and I have seen flocks of Egyptian Geese taking a quick, cool dip on their way to somewhere.

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Winter wonderland

Dedicated to all my Northern Hemisphere blogger-friends!

On a wonderful clear winter night,
Feeling the breeze,
Watching the trees,
They're swaying with grace,
In this peaceful little place,

Oh man, how wonderful Winter can be!

- Unknown

I've got this little hand-made sketchbook with a satin-finish linen paper and I can sit for hours churning out these little 7"x4" (17cmx10cm) watercolour sketches. I find it totally calming and it also satisfies my need to fiddle! This paper is very unforgiving, can’t take pencil marks, so you can’t do any preliminary drawing and also no erasing. The paper (or linen) virtually disintegrates under an eraser. Once you put colour to paper, that’s it! But it does allow for a lovely flow of the paint, which I enjoy immensely as I never know exactly what I’m going to end up with.

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Enjoying Summer

 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

At this time of year I really enjoy the silhouettes of the trees and hedges against the summer sky in my garden.

(If you are interested in buying this original painting, you can purchase it here.)

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A little bit curious...

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

When you come to a bend in the road, aren’t you just a little bit curious as to what lies just around the corner…?

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The joy of snow

 

W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm

We rarely have snow in South Africa, but when we do, there is always great excitement. Schools close, everybody rushes around taking photographs and spreading the word on social media and a ball is had by all. And, of course, it softens and beautifies any garden. But it also causes havoc as our country is not geared up for snowy conditions. Livestock like sheep suffer greatly as they are mostly kept out in the field on huge tracts of land and bringing them indoors is not an option.

So here's to all my Northern Hemisphere friends, enjoy your winter and enjoy the snow!

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A rumble of thunder

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A rumble of thunder, a shower of rain and a murder of crows heading away from the rain...

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Clouds over the Magaliesberg

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Clouds over these mountains, viewed from Magaliesburg (Gauteng, South Africa) to the North, means that we are probably in for a big storm accompanied by hail and lots of wind. Our "normal" rain comes from Randfontein's side, to the South. Seeing it go dark and clouds building up on the mountain side of the horison always sends me scurrying to bring my Pachypodium under cover and get the chickens to safety in their coop.

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Guineas are winged wonders

a guinea fowl
molting polka dot feathers—
handmade earrings

W&N Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

After years of not seeing any guinea fowl around our property, I was lucky enough to have a visit from them a couple of weeks ago and I was totally thrilled!

Like turkeys, guineas are Galliformes, a group encompassing all chicken-like birds. But while chickens are members of the pheasant family, turkeys and guineas each have a family of their own. Native to Africa, they are known for travelling in large, gregarious flocks. There are seven species of guinea fowl, of which the 'helmeted'  is by far the most common, and certainly the weirdest looking, with its oddly shaped helmet, white, featherless face, bright red wattles, and grey polka-dotted feathers.

Free-ranging guineas spend most of their days foraging. They work as a team, marching chest to chest and devouring anything they startle as they move through the grass. When they discover a special treat—a rodent, for example, or a small snake—they close ranks, circle their prey, and move in for the feast. All the while, they keep up a steady stream of whistles, chirps, and clicks, a sort of running commentary on the day's hunt.

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Summer beauties

W&N watercolour on a back-ground painted with coffee in a Bockingford 300gsm sketch-pad

A clump of Shasta daisies, growing at the rubbish hole on our property after I had removed old plants from my garden. I discovered them during a walk on the property and these little die-hards just seem to have no end!

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Sunrise over a winter landscape

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm – 15″ × 11″ (38cm x 28cm)

Winter here in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa) means a late sunrise, often accompanied by clouds, which usually clear up as the day progresses.

“Nature is painting for us,
day after day,
pictures of infinite beauty
if only we have the eyes to see them.”
— John Ruskin

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A handful of Southerly wind

"And God took a handful of southerly wind, blew His breath over it and created the horse." 

 - Bedouin Legend

  Pencil, Black waterproof Pilot Calligraphy Lettering Pen sketch, candle wax and W&N 'Sepia' watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

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The historic mining village of Kaapsehoop is situated about 25 kilometers from the town of Nelspruit in the South African province of Mpumalanga. It is within this paradise-like setting that the legendary wild horses of Kaapsehoop roam freely. Kaapschehoop has the only wild herds in South Africa, whilst the other nearest known wild horse occurrence is in Namibia.

The Muse

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

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Like a disappearing fish 

or a bird in full flight - 

the muse, 

in an element of her own is jealous of freedom.

She circles close, insistent, 

just below the surface - 

but, when you reach out to catch hold 

without a backward glance she’s gone!

Only on rare occasions 

if you woo her assiduously; - 

right kind of pen, paper she approves of - 

a chair which allows one to forget 

the intrusive flesh.

If the light is right 

and the time 

then, slender as a mosquito 

and as easily brushed aside 

she’ll flirt nearer to inject 

the catalyst sting

Which may find pathway to the tip

of the waiting pen. 

- Margaret Gough 

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Follow the clouds

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

It's always tempting to go a little further and follow the clouds to see what's just over the hill...

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The worst is over...

Ink sketch and W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Winter is gone… but still the weather teases, keeping the rain just around the corner.

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Muddy tracks

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

 

Muddy tracks weave o'er hills & valleys enticing continuous exploration of my much-loved Tarlton ...

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Amethyst Sunbird female

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm
Black Sunbird feeding on the Kniphofia (Red Hot Poker) flowers in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa).

The Amethyst Sunbird, also called the Black Sunbird (Chalcomitra amethystine) mainly occurs in Africa south of the equator. Its natural habitat is dry savannah but it is extremely fond of gardens.
It goes out of its way to visit a large clump of nectar-bearing plants. Here in my garden, it feeds on nectar from the Aloe, Kniphofia, Halleria lucida (Tree fuchsia) and a nectar mix in one of my bird feeders. It’s diet is supplemented with insects and often hawks flying insects from the trees or bushes, also gleaning them from leaves and branches. Nectar is obtained either from flowers or from garden feeders, which it uses readily (note that in feeding experiments it was found to prefer sucrose rather than sugar).

This Sunbird is not threatened, in fact its range has increased recently due to the spread of wooded gardens.

Swartsuikerbekkie [Afrikaans]

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Keep discovering life

 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

I yearn to keep ‪walking‬, keep ‪drawing‬ and keep discovering life along the way.

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A Windpomp and a gate

 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A familiar sight in South Africa – a windmill drawing the life blood from the earth.

Water availability has shaped life and society in many ways, with aridity shaping the landscape and soils and determining where we live, grow our crops, raise animals and build our cities. Without these wind pumps, farming, and life in general, would not be possible in the more arid parts of our country.

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Waiting for the rain

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

The fields are quiet, the lands are empty – oh, for the sound of rain!

Summer has hit with a vengeance - Spring was short-lived and after freezing temperatures, we went straight into 30℃ heat.

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The colour of Winter

The colour of springtime is in the flowers, the colour of winter is in the imagination. 

~Terri Guillemets 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A winter scene in South Africa.

Clear blue skies and trees scorched by veld fires is a familiar sight here in South Africa in winter. With just a few more weeks of cold, the August winds have already blown in Spring, bringing everything to life again.

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Arum fields

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A happy meander through the fields and flowers of a sunny Spring morning ...

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Winter is golden

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Winter is always depicted in cold colours of blue and grey, but here in South Africa, cold as it is, the sun is shining on a bright brown, yellow and green landscape. The only time we have blues and greys is in summer when it is raining!

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Thoughts

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Thoughts drifting through my mind as I wend my way up the path towards the gate…

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