Gemsbuck Study - Wear your own skin

We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.
~Albert Schweitzer, The Philosophy of Civilization

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

PilotFineliner Blank ink sketch with W&N watercolour on DalerRowney 220gsm (135lb) Smooth heavy-weight sketching paper - small sketch 6" x 8"

The Gemsbuck (Oryx gazella) is one of the most handsome antelope in Africa, with its long rapier-like horns and striking markings. They can form herds of up to 20 - 30 animals. Gemsbuck are grazers but will survive on browse in times of drought. When wounded they can be very dangerous animals to approach on foot. The horns of the calves grow extremely fast and when they emerge from concealment after birth their horns are very evident. This has lead to the myth that a Gemsbok is born with horns.

Art is Magic!

"Let no one be deluded that a knowledge of the path can substitute for putting one foot in front of the other."
~ Mary Caroline Richards

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

W&N watercolour on smooth inside back cover of Amedeo watercolour pad - no preliminary sketching

The inside back covers of the various watercolour pads are nice and smooth, almost like painting on Yuppo, and it fascinates me how one can wait for the paint to dry and then add layers or, just with a wet brush, lift the paint completely, leaving the clean, white surface again! Makes fixing 'mistakes' a cinch!

The true meaning of life...

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
~Nelson Henderson

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



The above quote came to mind as I was doing this sketch in my Moleskine 200gsm Folio (A4) watercolour sketch-book at Hartebeespoort Dam last year - two beautiful trees at the edge of the dam and I wondered if anybody has ever sat in their shade....

Umbrella Thorn

Should a tree write its autobiography, it would not be unlike the history of a race.
- Khalil Gibran

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

Thorn tree - watercolour on Ashrad 300gsm
Umbrella Thorn {Acacia tortilis}

There are few more striking symbols of Africa than a thorn tree - its gnarled branches, graceful form, jagged thorns and abundant blooms, in many ways reflecting the paradoxes of the continent.

This Umbrella Thorn (Acacia tortilis) stands in one corner of my garden and offers a safe haven for many birds who seek a safe place to nest.

The Song sings itself

In summer, the song sings itself.
- William Carlos Williams

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

W&N watercolours on Amedeo 200gsm

My Swallows (Greater-striped Swallow) have returned and it always amazes me that they've come thousands of miles back to their nest on MY little piece of soil here in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa! How great is that!

They've already got their first brood and this sketch started off as one of the youngsters perching in my peach tree, and although they do have a glint of blue on their heads and wings, I got carried away with the blue and now it looks more like a Blue Bird (which we DON'T have here in S.A.! lol!) But I have managed to capture the likeness in his cute little face, so it will have to do for now!