Africa's Wonder

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



“Let a Person Walk Alone With Few Wishes, Committing No Wrong, Like an Elephant in the Forest.”

Africa’s wild animals are a constant source of inspiration and for me elephants symbolise Strength, Solitude, sense of loyalty to the family and Intelligence. Looking into the eye of an elephant, one sees Wisdom beyond our understanding.

I sketched this young elephant on a visit to the Elephant Sanctuary Hartebeespoort Dam where they provide a “halfway house” for young African elephants in need of a temporary home.

Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 16” x 12”

Daisies on Mother's Day

'Tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes!
~William Wordsworth, "Lines Written in Early Spring," Lyrical Ballads, 1798

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

Asters - watercolour in Moleskine Watercolour sketch-book - 8" x 5.5" Maree©

I did this sketch of some Asters in my garden last month - these Shasta daisies are real die-hards and sometimes carry on right through winter, but require quite a lot of work dead-heading or else they can really look messy.

I received a wonderful Mother's Day card from my daughter in Ballito (on the North Coast of KwaZulu Natal, S.A.), but no flowers this year! so I picked a bunch of these Shastas for the kitchen table and they looked quite perky in my white enamel jug.

Standing out in the crowd

Sometimes I think we may feel that we have to do the big things in life to stand out from the crowd, but I think all you have to do is be yourself.... like this little daisy....

Watercolour on Visual 200gsm watercolour paper done on a textured back-ground by "GHOSTBONES"

I've been experimenting with some textures lately and for this one I printed the texture on watercolour paper first and then painted over it. I had just read an article a few days ago on 'standing out in the crowd', and as the painting looked a bit bland and mono-tone, the little daisy came to mind.

Please don't kill my Gemsbuck...

Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

The Gemsbuck (Oryx gazella) is one of the most handsome antelope in Africa, with it long rapier-like horns and striking markings. They can form herds of up to 20 - 30 animals. Gemsbuck are grazers but will survive on browse in times of drought. When wounded they can be very dangerous animals to approach on foot. The horns of the calves grow extremely fast and when they emerge from concealment after birth their horns are very evident. This has lead to the myth that a Gemsbok is born with horns.

Females have longer, thinner horns and that's pretty much the only outward difference between males and females and as such, many hunters mistake females for males.

Please don't kill my antelope,
She hasn't bothered you.
She hasn't kicked you in the shin
Or spit inside your shoe.
She hasn't bitten off your nose
Or stomped on your rear end.
Please don't kill my antelope,
My antelope's my friend!
- Author unknown

Daisy in Acrylic

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


Acrylic on Visual 200gsm watercolour paper - 8" x 12"

The Daisy follows soft the Sun
And when his golden walk is done
Sits shyly at his feet
He, waking – finds the flower there
Wherefore, Marauder, art thou here?
Because, Sir, love is sweet!
We are the Flower, Thou the Sun!
Forgive us, if as days decline
We nearer steal to Thee!
Enamoured of the parting West
The peace – the flight – the Amethyst
Night’s possibility!
- Emily Dickinson

One of my rare acrylics - as happens often, this one was done over another acrylic which I decided I don't like! But I've also found a blessing in that, because all the paint on top of one another provides a wonderful texture!

From my portfolios of "Flowers":http://www.redbubble.com/people/mareeclarkson/collections/4602-flowers-1 and "Acrylic Paintings":http://www.redbubble.com/people/mareeclarkson/collections/4333-acrylic-paintings