First Light

early dawn | two-note, two note | who are you?
A Twitter poem from WATERMARK


"First Light" - Acrylic on Canvas board - Maree©

This was one of my first ventures into Acrylics. I've only done another 2 or 3 since then, and will get around to posting them some time or another.

Sunrise or sunset in the Kalahari Desert in the Cape Province of South Africa is always a spectacular affair. Here I have tried to capture the mystery of the desert as the sun rises over a landscape of golden grass and small red dunes.

The name Kalahari is derived from the Tswana word Kgala, meaning "the great thirst", or Khalagari, Kgalagadi or Kalagare, meaning "a waterless place". The Kalahari desert is part of the huge sand basin that extends some 900 000 square kilometers from the Orange River up to Angola, in the west to Namibia and in the east to Zimbabwe. The sand masses were created by the erosion of soft stone formations. The wind shaped the sand ridges, which are so typical of the landscape in the Kalahari.

In the southern Kalahari desert, which is the driest part, the Kalahari desert takes the form of a stationary dune veld. To the East and to the North of this, the Kalahari desert becomes a flat park-like terrain or savannah.

The Kalahari is not a true desert as it receives too much rain, but is actually a fossil desert.

Zulu huts

*"Ukuph' ukuziphakela." (Giving is to dish out for oneself).
- Zulu proverb

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


Zulu Huts - watercolour in Moleskine Folio 200gsm watercolour sketchbook - 12" x 8.5" - Maree©

As one descends down Van Reenen's pass at Harrismith in the Free State, South Africa, you enter the hills and valleys of KwaZulu Natal, known as the Zulu Kingdom, home to the Zulu people. Here you will find traditional Zulu huts dotting the country side, set amongst peaceful, green hills, waving grasslands, abundant forests, with an unhurried lifestyle and a soil imbued with the strength of the Zulu nation who fought for this land. Here one can visit a Sangoma (traditional healer), watch a rural wedding ceremony and experience Zulu hospitality.

Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and all pieces of territory that made up the homeland of KwaZulu. In the 1830s the northern part was the Zulu Kingdom and southern part was briefly a Boer republic called Natalia (from 1839 until 1843). In 1843 the latter became the British Colony of Natal, though Zululand (KwaZulu in Zulu) remained independent until 1879.

Located in the south-east of the country, it borders three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho, along with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg and its largest city is Durban.

This is done from memory on my numerous trips down to the North Coast through this beautiful part of our country.

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From my series of "South African Landscapes" and "Ethnic South Africa" on RedBubble

Trees and singing hills

“May brooks and trees and singing hills join in the chorus too,
and every gentle wind that blows send happiness to you.”
- Irish Blessing

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


Watercolour in Moleskine watercolour sketchbook - 8" x 5" - Maree©

A scene a couple of kilometers from where I live - a gravel road through Tarlton (South Africa) on the way to Randfontein. It's a short-cut we often take past all the veggie and flower farms, the rubbish dump where all the Seagulls (600km from the coast!) gather and where tall Blue gum trees flank the road. Here you will find many old farmsteads dating back to the 1800's and early 1900's, but unfortunately most of these have fallen into disrepair and neglect and are more and more making way for more modern and comfortable homes.

There is also a vlei (marsh) area here that extends for many kilometers all the way to Tarlton and the hills fairly sing with the sound of birds and waterfowl. I presume this was the original feed for the Tarlton Dam, which is now empty, broken and no longer in existence, although the water still flows down the course during heavy periods of rain.

Nature at its best

I know no subject more elevating, more amazing, more ready to the poetical enthusiasm, the philosophical reflection, and the moral sentiment than the works of nature. Where can we meet such variety, such beauty, such magnificence?

- James Thomson

Watercolour on X-pressit Aqua 300gsm - 12" x 8" - 26/06/2010 - Maree©

Our 8,5ha smallholding in Tarlton, South Africa, is situated on the border of the famed Cradle of Humankind "World Heritage Site", which includes the famous Sterkfontein Caves, where the famous "Mrs Ples" and "Little Foot" Australopithecus hominid fossils almost 3 million years old were found. It also hosts the "Maropeng Visitor's Centre", where all these fossils are displayed.

This road is the entrance to the farm of friends living within the Cradle of Humankind and, as such, great restrictions are placed as to what kind of building and development may be done, as well as what kind of plants you're allowed to garden with. They have left everything as natural as possible, doing the bare minimum of development and not even paved the road leading up to their house. It is a wonderland of natural and indigenous growth, offering a safe haven to many of the animals found in this region.

Arums at night

"What a desolate place would be a world without a flower! It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome. Are not flowers the stars of the earth, and are not our stars the flowers of heaven?"
- Mrs. Clara Lucas Balfour

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

Arum Lilies at night - watercolour on Ashrad Not - 6" x 8.5" - Maree©

In a mostly green, shady and indigenous garden like I have, these Arum Lilies of mine seem to fairly glow against the dark green foliage at night, fireflies sometimes flitting in between, making me feel like I'm in a fairy landscape!

Flowers so fine

"He must have an artist's eye for color and form, who can arrange a hundred flowers as tastefully, in any other way, as by strolling through a garden, and picking here one and there one, and adding them to the bouquet in the accidental order in which they chance to come. Thus we see every summer day the fair lady coming in from the breezy side hill with gorgeous colors and most witching effects. If only she could be changed to alabaster, was ever a finer show of flowers in so fine a vase? But instead of allowing the flowers to remain as they were gathered, they are laid upon the table, divided, rearranged on some principle of taste, I know not what, but never again have that charming naturalness and grace which they first had."
- Henry Ward Beecher

Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©

A wet-on-wet exploration during one of my watercolour classes in April this year.

Magaliesberg Mountains 4

"Magaliesburg Mountains 4" - Watercolour on X-pressit Aqua 300gsm

- 12" x 8" - Maree©

“The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a mountain -- he is inspired by it. The persistent winner is not discouraged by a problem -- he is challenged by it. Mountains are created to be conquered; adversities are designed to be defeated; problems are sent to be solved. It is better to master one mountain than a thousand foothills.”
- William Arthur Ward

This 30 000-hectare mountain preserve in the North-West Province of South Africa is almost entirely the property of agricultural, mining or industrial landowners. But legislation ensures that no more quarries, factories or unacceptable developments can take place that would threaten the integrity of the natural area. There is a fragile and secret world in the kloofs of the Magaliesberg, with places where you can see vultures soaring on updrafts, swim in clear mountain pools - and perhaps even catch sight of a pangolin, a brown hyena or a leopard.

For this wet-on-wet scene of the mountain, after wetting the paper, I sketched the main outlines of my scene using my Rigger and Cerulean Blue, a "trick" I picked up at my watercolour workshop in April this year. I'm sure many of you use this technique, but I've always been somewhat of a sketchy person, using my pencil, going into great detail with a lot of erasing happening. It's only been the past couple of months since I started practicing painting with no sketching beforehand that I feel confident enough to consider doing this.

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Awe-inspiring Mountain

“A friend who is far away is sometimes much nearer than one who is at hand. Is not the mountain far more awe-inspiring and more clearly visible to one passing through the valley than to those who inhabit the mountain?”
- Kahlil Gibran

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

"Magaliesberg Mountains 3" - watercolour on Ashrad 300gsm w/colour paper - 8" x 6" - Maree©

The Magaliesberg is the closest thing to a wilderness in Gauteng (South Africa) ... to watch the sheer south-facing slopes from eagle height and to see trees, cows and cars like toys in the patchwork playground of green-brown fields below, is a sheer joy.

I sketched this scene just a few kilometers outside Magaliesburg, as these majestic mountains start rising, eventually reaching their full height of 1741m above sea level.

"The village of Magaliesburg lies just below the southern range of the Magaliesberg Mountains. The roads and rivers take similar paths, breaking though the steep ridges of the mountains in a few places, only to traverse much of the land along the valleys on either side of the two mountain ridges. This small village lies at the heart of a beautiful region of mountains, valleys, rivers and indigenous woodland - home to a variety of birds.

The Magaliesberg mountain range lies in between the highveld savannah of the Witwatersrand and the African bushveld, stretching roughly from past Rustenburg in the west, past Pretoria to Bronkhorstspruit in the east. This mountain range is almost 100 times older than Everest with interesting geology, archaeology, fauna and flora.

The area was also the site of battles during the Boer War, such as:

• Battle of Nooitgedacht: Monument to one of the historic battles between the Boer and English, at the height of the Boer War.
• Old English Block House: Loosely packed stone wall construction built by the English in 1902 towards the end of the Boer War. To view by appointment only.

The Magaliesberg has the most intriguing and longest session of history, as man would have experienced, than anywhere else on earth. The reason for this is the discovery of the remains of the earliest species of primitive man know today, in and around the Sterkfontein Caves, about 20 minutes drive from Magaliesburg."

Read more at http://www.mogalecity.gov.za/municipality/magaliesburg.stm

Magaliesberg Mountains 2

The true artist paints for himself.
- A. C. Leighton

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

"Magaliesberg Mountains 2" - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 12" x 8" - Maree©

This 30 000-hectare mountain preserve is almost entirely the property of agricultural, mining or industrial landowners. But legislation ensures that no more quarries, factories or unacceptable developments can take place that would threaten the integrity of the natural area. There is a fragile and secret world in the kloofs of the Magaliesberg, with places where you can see vultures soaring on updrafts, swim in clear mountain pools - and perhaps even catch sight of a pangolin, a brown hyena or a leopard.

For this wet-on-wet scene of the mountain, after wetting the paper, I sketched the main outlines of my scene using my Rigger and Cerulean Blue, a "trick" I picked up at my watercolour workshop in April this year. I'm sure many of you use this technique, but I've always been somewhat of a sketchy person, using my pencil, going into great detail with a lot of erasing happening. It's only been the past couple of months since I started practicing painting with no sketching beforehand that I feel confident enough to consider doing this.

The other day I was reading the article "When can you call yourself an Artist?" - and that morning, painting this scene, I felt like an artist! Standing in front of the easel, arm outstretched with the Rigger, creating a beautiful masterpiece!

I didn't use any reference material either, just my imagination.

By the way, to answer the question above, I think the best reply was as follows :

“You are an artist when you make art. Many artists spend their lives not selling their work … One of the first requirements for an artist is to ignore those who would define whether they are artists. The only real measure is the person making the art or, if need be, posterity.”
-- Jon

Magaliesberg Mountains 1

“I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.”
- Unknown

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


"Magaliesberg Mountains 1" - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 15" x 11" - Maree©

For one of the workshops I attended with Angela Eidelman in March this year, we had to stretch and prepare our paper at home beforehand and that week's practice was wet-in-wet again. We had to draw the outlines of the scene we were going to paint, from pictures Angela supplied, with Cerulean blue and then, paint it wet-on-wet, keeping in mind our composition, light source, focal point, etc., with Angela constantly peeping over our shoulders, giving encouragement and correction.

This is a scene of part of the Magaliesberg mountains, which runs for more than 100 kilometers from Rustenburg to beyond Pretoria. I thoroughly enjoyed this exercise!