I am a watercolorist living on my little piece of African soil in Ballito, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The inspiration for my art is the wonderfully rich variety of Fauna and Flora to be found throughout this beautiful country.
Art & Creativity - Maree Clarkson
JUST ME :: and a stack of blank pages
:: Living creatively ::
Pages
About me
This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realise it is play. The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is. I’m here to tell you that the path to peace is right there, when you want to get away. When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it. If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life. That is very serious!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Sketching in my area
My neighbour's house... half hidden by a huge, gnarled old Oak. I was half-way up his driveway, which is about 300m long, sketching the scene, when he came driving down in his bakkie (our term for an LDV, the 'a' being pronounced as in 'bucky', weird, but true!) - he didn't mind at all, and asked to see the sketch when it was finished, which led to him buying it when I showed it to him a week later!
Just an explanation of the long driveways - the size of our properties here in Tarlton is 8,5ha (or 21 acres or 10 morgen), which normally translates to a front width of approximately 200 meters and a depth or length of 600 meters, and most houses are either right at the back or half-way up the property. Sometimes, like ours, the house is in the front of the property, close to the road, leaving the full length of the back of the property for some farming activity.
We do not do any farming, but half of the property was planted with Eragrostis by the previous owner, a perennial grass used as fodder for horses and cattle, and plays host to a variety of birds, one being a little bird similar to the reed warbler, building it's nest by tying the long grass stalks together. A quarter is taken up by our living area and a quarter contains a Blue gum forest, planted in the early 20th Century for use by the mining industry. This forest is where I spend a great deal of time sketching the trees.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Wise Old Owl
Some wise words for 2010 :
“A wise old owl sat on an oak;
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard;
Why aren't we like that wise old bird?”
"Scops Owl" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©
{Otus senegalensis}
The African Scops Owl is a common, sometimes abundant, resident of Savannah woodland in South Africa. Scops Owls feed mostly on insects and spiders and breed in a tree cavity.
The Scops Owl is fully nocturnal and mostly insectivorous. It is a bird of scrub and bush territory, and often uses ground nest sites for breeding.
It is a small owl of only about 17cm and lays its 4-6 eggs in a tree cavity from April - June. Incubation about 27 days. Young fledge by about 30 days.
Its call is a soft croaking, frog-like "prrrup-prrrup".
Detail of Scops Owl feet
Detail of Scops Owl face
“A wise old owl sat on an oak;
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard;
Why aren't we like that wise old bird?”
"Scops Owl" watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©
{Otus senegalensis}
The African Scops Owl is a common, sometimes abundant, resident of Savannah woodland in South Africa. Scops Owls feed mostly on insects and spiders and breed in a tree cavity.
The Scops Owl is fully nocturnal and mostly insectivorous. It is a bird of scrub and bush territory, and often uses ground nest sites for breeding.
It is a small owl of only about 17cm and lays its 4-6 eggs in a tree cavity from April - June. Incubation about 27 days. Young fledge by about 30 days.
Its call is a soft croaking, frog-like "prrrup-prrrup".
Detail of Scops Owl feet
Detail of Scops Owl face
Saturday, January 2, 2010
"Making A Mark" Award
A most fitting way to start a new year! Our group blog, Sketching in Nature, hosted by Cathy (Kate) Johnson, of which I am proud to say I am also a contributor, received the "Going Greener" award from Katherine Tyrrell of "Making A Mark". These awards are given out every year to artists, blogs, groups, etc.
This year, Sketching in Nature gets it for "Going Greener" - with many kind words for the contributors of Sketching in Nature.
Thank you, Katherine!
Go to MAKING A MARK for more information.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Sunrise in Tarlton
"Sunrise doesn't last all morning, a cloudburst doesn't last all day;
seems my love is up and has left with no warning -
it's not always going to be this grey.
All things must pass, all things must pass away."
- George Harrison
My first post for 2010 and I thought it fitting to start with a sunrise, depicting a new day, a new beginning, filled with hope, joy and lovely sunshine for all!
"South African Sunrise" Watercolour on a sheet of Daler Bockingford 14in x 10in watercolour paper, 90lbs (190gsm) - Maree©
At the edge of our smallholding stands this lonely little Syringa tree, and I was up early enough one morning to capture the sun rising.
I did 286 posts from April to December last year and I hope to stick to
a-sketch-or-painting-a-day pledge I made back then.
seems my love is up and has left with no warning -
it's not always going to be this grey.
All things must pass, all things must pass away."
- George Harrison
My first post for 2010 and I thought it fitting to start with a sunrise, depicting a new day, a new beginning, filled with hope, joy and lovely sunshine for all!
"South African Sunrise" Watercolour on a sheet of Daler Bockingford 14in x 10in watercolour paper, 90lbs (190gsm) - Maree©
At the edge of our smallholding stands this lonely little Syringa tree, and I was up early enough one morning to capture the sun rising.
I did 286 posts from April to December last year and I hope to stick to
a-sketch-or-painting-a-day pledge I made back then.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Sketching in old books
“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.”
- Martin Luther
A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!
Landscape done in an old soft-cover book I found lying around.
- Martin Luther
A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!
Landscape done in an old soft-cover book I found lying around.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tarlton Stream
“An ant may well destroy a whole dam.”
- Chinese Proverbs
Tarlton Stream - the slow flow through the dam - done in Amedeo 200gsm mixed media pad - Maree©
Sitting on the edge of the Tarlton "dam", I was watching as the little stream feeding it was struggling to find it's way through all the growth in the centre which has sprung up since the dam wall was broken and all the water flowed out. I was sitting in the shade of a big old Blue gum, and even as I sketched the empty dam, the feed was already slowing down to a trickle. Tomorrow it will be dry once more...
Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!
- Chinese Proverbs
Tarlton Stream - the slow flow through the dam - done in Amedeo 200gsm mixed media pad - Maree©
Sitting on the edge of the Tarlton "dam", I was watching as the little stream feeding it was struggling to find it's way through all the growth in the centre which has sprung up since the dam wall was broken and all the water flowed out. I was sitting in the shade of a big old Blue gum, and even as I sketched the empty dam, the feed was already slowing down to a trickle. Tomorrow it will be dry once more...
Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Downpour
Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue.
- John Muir (1838 - 1914)
A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!
A quick sketch of a corner of my garden as we had a heavy down-pour the other day.
- John Muir (1838 - 1914)
A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!
A quick sketch of a corner of my garden as we had a heavy down-pour the other day.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Little Stream of Hope...
“To be happy in this world, especially when youth is past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merely an isolated individual whose day will soon be over, but part of the stream of life flowing on from the first germ to the remote and unknown future.”
- Bertrand Russell
A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!
Tarlton Stream - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©
Size - 12" x 9"
Size - 12" x 9"
The little stream feeding the Tarlton Dam has been dry for years, but after the recent good rains we have had, it is once again flowing, rushing forward as if looking forward to reaching its destination. Sadly, the dam will not fill up this time, as someone thought it wise to break the dam wall down and allow the water to flow into nowhere, drying up quickly as the feed slows down. It is sad that a part of Tarlton's landscape is forever changed through this action.
I did this sketch yesterday afternoon and finished it off this morning.
.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunrise in Tarlton
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
- Martin Luther
A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!
Sunrise in Tarlton - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©
Size 9" x 12"
The sun rising through our Blue gum forest on Sunday morning - the flowers are a wish for the New Year!
- Martin Luther
A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!
Sunrise in Tarlton - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©
Size 9" x 12"
The sun rising through our Blue gum forest on Sunday morning - the flowers are a wish for the New Year!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Christmas 2009
Watercolour in Amedeo 200gsm mixed media pad - Maree©
My first Christmas of blogging in My Sketch-book here on Blogger and I'd like to wish EVERYBODY a beautiful festive season and, of course, the most stunning 2010!
This year has been a year of meeting fabulous new friends on-line, learning many interesting things and beautiful memories collected over the past year that will stay with me always!
I would like to thank everyone (and yes, that means YOU!) for making my blogging experience such a pleasure and for being so understanding and supportive of my attempts at sketching and all the lovely comments I've received will for ever stay in my heart.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)