A Murder of Crows

One crow, sorrow, 

two crows, joy, 

three crows for a girl, 

four crows for a boy, 

five crows for silver, 

six crows for gold, 

seven crows for a secret that's never been told.

 - Ashe Corven 

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

- practice, practice, practice! 

A collection of crow sketches done on a free Textured back-ground from Boccacino - first I print out the texture on watercolour paper and then paint the sketches on top of that. 

Although cultures around the world may regard the crow as a scavenger, bad omen, or simply a nuisance, this bad reputation might overshadow what could be regarded as the crow’s most striking characteristic – its intelligence. 

::

The True nature of Peace

Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth. 

- Walt Whitman 

W&N watercolour on DalerRowney 300gsm 

A peaceful scene in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa). 

For me, total peace is to be found in nature – the biggest problem seems to dissipate in the face of the beauty of a sunrise or a sunset, the birds singing, or while walking in the rain… And as you lose yourself in the moment, you realise that this Peace is the natural radiation of Living in the Now, seeing only the Present and nothing of the Past or the Future.

::

What will I find?

Driving up one of the gravel roads in and around our area always fills me with expectation - what will I find over the horison? Neat, green fields? A little stream? Or some antelope crossing the road? I can't remember how many times I've been blessed with some wonderful finds, a Hedgehog sprinting for the cover of grass, a Duiker quickly leading it's fawn back to the safety of the trees, a Kestrel sitting on a fence post devouring its prey.

::

Windpomp in the Karoo

Ink sketch and watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm 

A depiction of a ‘windpomp’ (windmill) in the Karoo. 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.

::

View across the road

'I open my eyes and see the world in a new light. I view everything as if I were a child seeing a freshly opened flower for the first time.'

W&N watercolour on DalerRowney 220gsm heavy-duty sketching paper 

The view across the road from my studio – I stare at this every day, and every day I am amazed at the different play of colours on the landscape….

::