South African Grasses 1

Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. This we know - the Earth does not belong to man - man belongs to the Earth. This we know.
- Chief Seattle

My daily sketch...


South African Grasses
"Restio - Thamnochortus sp" - watercolour in Moleskine Watercolour Notebook

One of the Restios or Cape Reeds, Thamnochortus lucens, is very common in the Western Cape mountains. It grows well in dry, gravelly slopes and is often in small populations or locally dominant. The plants grow tufted on a short rhizome, often with tangled sterile clusters of culms at the base. Grows to 50 cm. There is quite a difference between the male and female plants - the sketch above is a male.

The beautiful Thamnochortus genus have 13 species and most of its members grow well in coastal areas at the beach. Some species are very large and are commonly used to thatch houses. T. insignis is commonly used for this purpose because of its very long culms. One species, T. nutans is the exception and is only found 600m above sea level. It is endemic to Table Mountain and the Constantia berg.


Female Thamnochortus lucens.


Restio stems

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Painting Wildlife in a Game Park

Gathering your own reference materials, sketches and using your own imagination is going to help you grow as an artist far more than stealing someone else's work.
- Bonnie Hamline


"Impala" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©

It was last during 2004, when I visited the Krugersdorp Game Reserve, that I had painted any wild animals plein air, but in January 2009 I re-visited the Game Lodge, taking my paints with me, and managed to find the Impala herd quite close to the road, which allowed me to capture a group that were standing close together. The rest of the herd on the right-hand side of the picture are not included, as my scanner could not take the large sketch.

Also see Painting Wildlife

Velvet Spider

If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.

~American Quaker Saying

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


Black Velvet Spider - pencil sketch and watercolour in Moleskine Watercolour Sketch-book

This black Velvet Spider has lived in the bark of an old log in my garden for approximately 2 years now and she lets me coax her out for photographic sessions every now and then. These spiders are robust and deliberate in the way that they walk and she even allows me to gently stroke her abdomen and thorax, which is covered in thick, smooth, velvety hairs.

The velvet spiders (family Eresidae) are a small group (about 100 species in 10 genera) of almost totally Old World spiders (exception: a few species are known from Brazil).

Velvet spiders are found under rocks or bark resting in a sheet of dense white silk and are often confused with baboon spiders. They can live up to 5 years. Free living but rarely leave the safety of their webs.



Description: 12mm to 15mm in length. These robust spiders colouration may be from black, grey or a rich red. Body covered with hairs which give them a velvety appearance, hence their name. The abdomen is often lighter in colour than the rest of the spider. Abdomen may have 4 dimples on the top. The eyes are close together and the mouthparts are very robust looking for a spider that size. Legs are short and strong and they are widespread throughout Southern Africa.

Web: These spiders build their webs under rocks, under loose bark. Their retreats consist of flat candy floss like dry sheets of silk. The silk is tough and has interwoven prey remains. Their nest-like webs are attached to the ground using silken anchor lines. Silken lines radiate from the entrance to their shelters. These lines are used to detect prey.

Venom: Even though these spiders can be large in size they very rarely bite. Not much is known about the affects of their venom. It is highly unlikely that this spider’s venom is of importance to humans.

Notes: Females seldom leave their webs in order to hunt. Instead, they prefer to wait for prey to wander into their webs and radiating silken lines. They prey upon tough skinned insects and other large prey items.

Journal entry - Duckling

Death--- the last sleep? No the final awakening.
- Walter Scott

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


"Carolina Duckling" pencil sketch in Daily Nature Journal - Maree©

This little Carolina duckling (Wood Duck) was very weak when it hatched and it also had a cripple leg. Despite all my efforts, it didn't survive and died 3 days later. This is from a sketch I did in an old Nature Journal.

Bonsai

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a flying:
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying."

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


My 1982 Natal Fig Bonsai (Ficus Natalensis) watercolour in Daler-Rowney 190gsm Sketchbook - Maree©

I acquired by Natal fig bonsai in 1985 when he was 3 years old and about 6" tall - through the years he's been transplanted into various bigger containers, but this year I'll just be freshening him up and adding some new soil and do some feeding.

Now summer is here! and it's time for spring-cleaning - the garden, the house (curtains - I've only got 3!), and everything else in sight, including my Bonsai.

The Japanese word "bonsai" is translated to "tree in a bowl" and is an art form symbolising many things. To some it is considered the link between heaven and earth, to others it symbolises the balance between man and nature. Attending to Bonsai creates peace and tranquility and is a great stress reducer.