The concept piece ‘Always, In All Ways’ 60cmx60cm, Acrylic and Recycled Plastic Water Bottle Hearts on Canvas, a tad wayward. I started from the centre of the canvas to ensure geometric balance, but didn’t allow for the ‘bend’ in the plastic that pushes everything off-centre. Visually, it has the impact with its neon-pink hearts, but it still feels underwhelming.

Perhaps, 4 equally sized canvases? A final work 1,2mx1,2m with 900 hearts. I will have to make the same measurement error in a mirror-image. Disaster waiting!

Drawing inspiration from Yayoi Kusama’s repeating patterns. The neon pink, a reflection on healing after a traumatic few years. In my case the freshly healed skin after my staircase fall on Christmas Day that left me in ICU.

Influenced by Kandinsky’s ‘Blue Rider’ paintings, a colourful abstract painting in pinks, blues, and yellows on a dark grey background

Painted in acrylic paint on 280 hand-cut recycled plastic water bottle butterflies

Uncontrolled mark-making of the paint on the plastic butterflies using salt-bush. Applying the paint to the back of the plastic butterflies means that the image of the final painting is the reverse of the gestural marks, which reinforces this uncontrollability.

The butterflies are fixed to the canvas in a geometric gris that takes its influence from the Abstract Expressionist artist, Agnes Martin and the plastic butterflies echo her Bricolage Works.

An abstract, landscape painting of the cherry blossoms reflected in the sun-dappled waters of the Villa Borghese gardens, Rome.

Painted in acrylic paint on 600 hand-cut recycled plastic water bottle butterflies, pinks, greens and blues dominate the painting.

Uncontrolled mark-making of the paint on the plastic butterflies using salt-bush. Applying the paint to the back of the plastic butterflies means that the image of the final painting is the reverse of the gestural marks, which reinforces this uncontrollability.

The butterflies are fixed to the canvas in a geometric gris that takes its influence from the Abstract Expressionist artist, Agnes Martin and the plastic butterflies echo her Bricolage Works.

An abstract painting using leftover colours on the pallet and the end of each days painting of the ‘Lotus 2’ painting

An abstract seascape painting in acrylic, oil and recycled plastic water bottle butterflies on canvas of Kei River Mouth and the prominent Castle Rock.

A collection of 32 (20cmx20cm) paintings of wild animals from Addo Elephant Park.

Each small work its own character.

A minimalistic approach, the line-art technique has its roots in San rock-art, which can be found in caves in the Zuurberg Mountains, at the foot of which lies the Nyathi rest camp. While fine-line rock-art, is brush-painted. Khoekhoen and Bantu-speaker rock-art is finger-painted. I’m blurring this technical distinction, using my fingers to creat the line-art.

With inspiration from the paintings of Alexander Rose-Innes, the street leading up from the deli, with the mosque on the right.

I was conscious of respecting the privacy of the residents, but managed to include a dashing man in his beret and white slacks. So different to the traditional Muslim dress associated with Bo-Kaap.

Blossoms on the tree outside the luxurious room at Nyati, Addo Elephant Park.

Fireflies and stars. The distance hoot of owls. The melody of the Night Jar. Silence. The hills, distance shadows. The great elephants, at one with the dark.

The collective noun for butterflies is ‘kaleidoscope’, which seemed appropriate for the light reflections off the various facets of the plastic water bottle butterflies

Line Art, painting with my finger painting technique challenging.

My latest interpretation using my fingers to form ridges of white paint, creating lines on a white background.

Light, the only differentiating factor.

At this time of the 3rd Covid wave, inspiration for the painting coming from the mind-shift to ‘Not hide from the storm, but learn to dance in the rain.’ Based on a photo taken in Central Park.

The towers are the first twin towers historic buildings in New York City, the San Remo located at 174 Central Park West, between West 74th street and West 75th street.

Finally sorted the fresh spring green colours. A mixture of Cadmium Yellow Light and Chromium Oxide Green. Bringing life to the painting with a touch of Quinacidone Rose that Cézanne used used to ‘transform nature’.

Drawing inspiration from the Abstract Impressionist painter, Joan Mitchell and the painting I did of Lotus flowers in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Joan Mitchell’s work, a bridge between Abstract Expressionist and Action painters. Rooted in her emotional response to nature through memories, orchestrating her paintings in energy, mood and emotion.

Collisions of colour that are exuberant against the natural, white areas.

Uncontrollable Saltbush mark-making on the butterflies. My interpretation of the Abstract Expressionists.

Increased the tonal contrast of the painting, strengthening the white areas and saturating some of the black bits. Trying hard not to overwork the painting or loose the spontaneous mark-making.

Beach each walk. Or rather, dog play.

Colours of the sea, incredible, with small fish playing in the waves. Gave me the chance to reflect on my seascape painting, and sort a few things with the waves that were bothering me

Renosterveld

Vegetation, unique to the Western Cape in South Africa, and sits with Fynbos as part of the Cape Floral Kingdom. With its profusion of bulbs, the dull grey summer look is transformed into a collidoscope of colour in late winter and early spring.

An abstract representation of the critically endangered Moraea Comtonii 

White on White
White-on-White is acrylic and recycled plastic water bottle butterflies on 100cmx100cm canvas. It is a response to Michele Nigrini’s Colour Symphony. 

White-on-White. Shadows. Pure. Complete. Perfection. 

Is white an equal balance of all colours in the spectrum, or the absence of colour? White, full of meaning and life. 

Butterflies. Recycled plastic water bottles. Sustainable. The growing urgency to protect our natural heritage. A tribute to the garden influences in Nigrini’s works. There are 395 butterflies. one for each of her panels. 

Aesthetic bands of equal width, alternate matt and gloss white, taking inspiration from the American Abstract Minimalist Painter, Agnes Martin. Martin’s hand-drawn graphite lines, a reflection of the black lines in the panels of ‘Colour Symphony’. My painting technique of using my fingers, as much part of the imperfections that characterises Agnes Martin’s work. 

The differences in the butterflies are due to the part of the plastic water bottle they come from. Within the work, there is an added dimension that responds to the ‘marks’ in Michele Nigrini’s panels. 

Using salt bush cuttings for the application technique, and inspired by the pincushion protea that are in full bloom in this part of the Garden Route, a pincushion protea design in ultra-violet paint, is hidden in the butterflies.  In a spectrum beyond what we can normally see. 

‘We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.’
Maya Angelou

Kgalagadi.

Known for its brilliant cat sightings (lion, cheetah, and even leopard), mainly because of the two broad riverbeds where all the antelope and buck hang out, and it’s all pretty visible to the roads. The roads through Kgalagadi follow these two riverbeds, south to north. Also, the territory is conducive to long sprints for the cheetah.

These cubs were spotted in the northern part of Kgalagadi, along the Nossob riverbed. Seated low in the grasses, with only their heads popping up. If they’d lain down, they’d have disappeared from sight. Their mother was sitting a little way away, keeping check on them.