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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Early Winter-morning sketch

W&N watercolour sketch on Bockingford 300gsm

5am. So... I'll finish when my fingers are less frozen...

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The Guineas are back

For the first time in many years (except for a brief visit in December 2013), I've had Guinea Fowl visiting my garden again. They even stopped to have a quick snack of corn which I put out for Solly's chickens.

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Africa burns

 

It's winter, which means it's once again time for our annual veld fires (wild fires). A couple of weeks ago we had one rushing through our property, but luckily the grass had already been cut in preparation of the event and the damage was minimal. But with strong winds, it is scary the speed at which these fires can travel.

The fire rushing through our property

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Three cheers

Winter is still persisting but three cheers for rising temperatures this morning. A spring in my step and a smile on my face!

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Colourful country living

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A colourful front door on a smallholding not far from where I live. 

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Sit beneath the sky

sit beneath the sky and find a way ...

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

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Playing with a candle

A couple of years ago I decided to try out a new technique (probably not new to many of you!) - I used a candle to draw some random lines on watercolour paper, gave the whole sheet a soft wash of ochre, which made the tree trunks stand out and from there I could complete the scenery, darkening the main trunks, adding more trees in the back-ground and then doing a fore-ground. Since then I often use this method and it's amazing what results one can achieve.

Below is another painting I did using the same technique using the waxed areas as highlites.

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If you are lucky enough...

… to be at the beach…
then you are lucky enough.

W&N watercolour in Moleskine 200gsm sketchbook

This is the walk-way down to the beach in Chaka’s Rock, Ballito, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

What better way of whiling away winter hours than dreaming of being at the beach?

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Don't settle

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Winter with a vengeance

Winter has hit us here in South Africa with a vengeance and it's snowing in many parts of the country. Last night we experienced -6℃ and all the bird baths and water bowls had a quarter inch thick ice on top. I'm sure if it snowed here in Tarlton it wouldn't be this cold...

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Looking back at your art

Looking back at my art since early 2009 when I started this blog, I've come to the pleasing conclusion that my art has improved, I have grown and I seem to have developed a "style". Style comes about by our preferences - preferences of the colours we use, preferences of subjects and preferences of how we look at things. I think every artist's fear is stagnating and getting nowhere, doing the same thing year in and year out.

My subjects have stayed the same - landscapes, birds, wildlife - the things in nature that I love. I did branch out into portraits, and there was a slight improvement, but I found that portraits were not really my forté at all, so I don't do many of those. I also now and then try acrylics and oils, but unless I spend a LOT more time practicing in those mediums, it's not going to get very far!

Early paintings

Recent paintings

What do you find when you look back at your art? I hardly ever throw anything away. Even though I cringe at some of the older paintings, it's a reminder of where you were. I love scratching through some old pieces, finding something that might have some potential and adding to it. Often something of value appears, if not, it's then destined for the dustbin. It's amazing what a feeling of freedom arises from the fact that it doesn't matter whether you botch it or not, it gives you a free hand to really go for it!

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Winter is coming

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

The first signs of winter are already showing amongst the bluegum trees on our smallholding (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa). Yellow grass, fallen leaves and longer shadows accompany me as I take my (now cold) early morning walks. The lizards and snakes have all but disappeared or only come out much later in the day as it warms up. Even the birds seem to be more quiet, preferring to sit in the top branches of some dead trees, basking in the early morning sun and warming up before taking on the day.

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The road to a friend's farm

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Two years ago I visited a friend in Tarlton and sketched the road leading to their farm (above). When I visited them again this past weekend, I noticed a few changes along the road and decided to sketch it again (below).

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

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No. 51

Another quick watercolour sketch in one of my Moleskine watercolour sketch-books - 8" x 5" (21cm x 12cm). It seems like I was going through a green and blue period when I did these...

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No. 52

The 52nd sketch in one my Moleskine 200gsm sketch-book - 8" x 5" (21cm x 12cm).

I have several Moleskine watercolour sketchbooks in this size and then I have a few that are A4 size (12" x 8") - the 200gsm paper is lovely to work with and doesn't bleed through to the back at all.

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No. 53

The 53rd sketch in my Moleskine 200gsm sketch-book - 8" x 5" (21cm x 12cm).

I just love these small Moleskine watercolour sketch-books. They have lovely 200gsm paper and are so easy to pack and are great for pencil, pen or watercolours.

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Walking home

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A familiar scene in our area - locals taking a short-cut on their way back from shopping at the local café.

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Magalies River

With all the rain we've been having, the Magalies River is in full flow, winding its way down to Hartebeespoort Dam in the NorthWest Province (South Africa), where they have all the sluices open to release some of the water.

W&N watercolour on smooth cardboard, very similar to Yuppo. The paint is all slippery and can be manipulated around and even wiped out.

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Blue gums. The first light of day

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

The first light of day sweeps across some blue gums (Eucalyptus) on our smallholding

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Balmy autumn days

"Now Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods, And day by day the dead leaves fall and melt."

- William Allingham

W&N watercolour in my Moleskine 200gsm Nature Journal

Balmy autumn days and the landscape is softly turning yellow, heralding that winter is close.

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The promise of things to come

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

There is a chilly whisper in the breeze reminding us that winter will soon be here. We’ve really had a cold and rainy past two weeks here in Tarlton (South Africa), but today the sun is shining brightly, the temperature is in the middle 20C’s and it’s now turning into that blissful time of year when it’s a joy to be outside in nature before we settle indoors to sit out the winter.

So, IF YOU NEED ME…
I’ll be somewhere outside,
soaking up those last few rays 
of autumn sun…

what are you up to?

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A familiar South African sight

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm – ©Maree Clarkson 

A few centuries ago, farmers and the people of Southern Africa extensively used thorn trees or branches to safely house their cattle and protect their properties, but since the advent of Barbed wire fencing in the early 20th century, first erected by the English during the first South African Boer War to restrict the Boers to a certain area, it has become a very familiar sight in South Africa.

It is simple and cost effective to construct and quick to erect, even by an unskilled person. Barbed wire fencing requires only fence posts, wire, and fixing devices such as staples or nails. It serves as an effective barrier as any person or animal trying to pass through or over barbed wire will suffer discomfort and possibly injury.

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Rain, rain and more rain

 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

It has been raining solidly, every day, for over two weeks now and the landscape is saturated with water, forming large pans of water everywhere. Some days my rain gauge overflows, meaning more than 120mm in just a few hours! My chooks are bedraggled and wet, choosing the safety and dryness of the coop. While all this water is excellent for our ground water tables, it has caused massive flooding and damage in large parts of South Africa. I think we're getting a spin-off from all the ice storms and flooding in the Northern Hemisphere, because this is most unusual weather for us.

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Coco on the fencepost

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Black Crow/Cape Crow (Corvus capensis) - Endemic to Africa

Coco, my Black Crow’s favourite vantage point on top of an old abandoned fencepost.

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Black-headed Oriole

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

The Black-headed Oriole (Oriolus larvatus) is a frequent visitor to my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa) and I’m always thrilled to hear his liquid call, upon which I rush out to refill the oranges and apples, which seem to be his favourite fruit.

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Plants in Terracotta pots

'We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.'

— Lao Tzu

I just love terracotta pots; love planting in them, love sketching them and just love collecting them!

This Angelwing Begonia seedling standing on my bathroom window sill looked so brave, proudly displaying its three new leaves, I just had to capture it. I started this plant from a cutting, one leaf, from another Begonia plant.

A Geranium I had on my window sill before trans-planting him into the garden. (Why do I think of it as a “him”? Maybe because he’s such a robust fellow…) It was just starting to flower, the tiny buds soon to be the well-known red geranium flowers.

Bunny Ears cacti originated in the wild (North and Central Mexico) and are popular garden and house plants here in South Africa. I bought my Bunny Ears two summers ago and after a nice rest this past winter, it is now showing lots of new ‘ears’. I’m just wondering if I will have any flowers while it is in a pot…

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Parsley in a pot

W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm mixed media paper – no preliminary sketching 

My little bit of Parsley in a small terracotta pot on a shelf in my bathroom garden.

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