And the tree asks "Why am I here?"

Winsor & Newton watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Every branch shaking, shifting, and falling in the icy wind,
A tiny leaf at the very end holds strong,
Why am I here, questioning wondering waiting, for that final pulse that will blow him down?
But in that tree was a force, a force of life, a force of strength, a force unmatched by the icy wind.
That tree was a young tree, a tree that never crossed roots with wild bushes,
Bore fruits desired by many, tasted by few and discarded by the very planter,
Questioning why am I here, questioning is this the only way,
Now the broken branch begins to fall, now this tree was not very tall,
No other tree was like this tree, this tree was special,
This tree was bearing the strain of an icy wind,
Just as the branch had hit the ground there was silence all around a calm in the drifting storm
Now this was rare, a tree this young, a tree this strange, a neglected tree, a tree with shallow roots, a tree with hollow bark had survived the storm.
Questioning why me?
This tree was a lonely tree, this tree knew he would grow strong, weak body strong thoughts kept the tree unmoved on broken paths.
^{Extract from “A tree” – Emmanuel Mohanlall}

::

All of life is a journey

W&N watercolours in Moleskine 200gsm watercolour sketch-book - no preliminary sketching

“All of life is a journey - which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there.”

- Unknown

.

Season's Greetings and a Happy New Year 2015!

Original is W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

The best part of the season is remembering those who make the holidays meaningful. I wish you all the love and happiness this season can bring, and may it follow you throughout the coming new year.

.

Winter's redeeming qualities

W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm

Winter has very few redeeming qualities. Many animals find that the best thing to do is simply sleep through it. Studies show that human beings sleep more during the winter months as well. One of the few redeeming qualities of winter is snow, something of which we don’t get a lot here in South Africa. But when it happens, there are few things more magical then looking out the window from your house and discovering those first flurries gently falling to the ground. When the snow builds up outside our houses it envelops us in a warm cocoon.

For my Northern Hemisphere friends, the time has come to put on your warm slippers, grab a cozy blanket, and curl up with some hot chocolate!

.

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!

.

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.

.

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.

.