It's the start of the season for things that bite. Most of them itchy. Some, like the mozzies that arrive to torment in the -wind still - early morning, a nuisance. Others like the bugs that come out as the sunsets are bites that are silent like a land-mine. Exploding into itchy welts after three days that drive you crazy for ten days
It doesn't seem possible that November is upon us. While acknowledging that the year has been truncated by my injuries from falling up, and down, staircases, the move from Knysna to Montagu and the past month by the rugby World Cup. It still seems incredulous. Crashing blood sugars making for erratic sleeping and exhausting days. The Studio, at Kupenda Africa Gallery, is operational and I
Summer is slowly forcing its way into the Valley. The snakes are out, which means walking in the mountains and along the trails is a tad hazardous, which suits my slowly recovering leg that still has a problem over rough terrain. Roses are in full bloom and the gardens around town are green after the rains. Leiwater (water from the river channeled through town)
The last thing I expected in the Loft Apartment were water leaks! After all it's on the second floor with a Penthouse above it. Yet somehow, when the westerly wind blows the rain it leaks. Nothing serious, until the big storms over the past few days that turned the leaks into rivers of water. Compounding the problem, rain blew in through the industrial
My Studio and Gallery has a new home at Kupenda (Love in Swahili) African Art Gallery, which is a few minutes walk up the road from the apartment. It’s a stunning space, in a newly renovated building that was part of the KWV warehouses sitting amongst the historical part of the town. The courtyard is till under construction so a back to a building site
An interesting few days participating in the Montagu Tourism Indaba, with its focus on introducing tourist venue, suppliers and destinations to each other. I was partnered with Kupenda African Gallery, which is five minutes walk up the road from the apartment, situated in a renovated KWV building. Quite splendid. Fortunately the wind behaved so were weren't chasing canvases across the golf course! Zandvliet ensured
The wind, that has been howling for the past few days. Unexpected. Clouds building over 'Bloupunt'. Storm hurtling in. A week since the professional move by Albertina Vervoer, offloaded the house into the new apartment at ' Les Presoir' in Montagu, and my paintings to the storage in Robertson. Rainbow Glen, our sanctuary as we settled Prince into a new home. Open stairs that creak
A fabulous exhibition held at Hudson Manor of Henri Lamy’s work from his Art Residence at Entabeni Farm. Henri is a French figurative painter who uses large gestural marks to create his impressionistic acrylic on canvas works. Intriguing slices of the landscape and people of Knysna were beautifully painted in diverse sizes that stimulated the imagination of the viewer. His Capoeira ‘Fast Art’ painting exhibition
I was first exposed to painting with beeswax and Damar Resin during our trip to Tasmania a million years ago. Tasmanian artist Philip Wolfhagen was painting large wild landscapes using beeswax as a medium, giving the paintings a rich, smooth texture. Encaustic art is a painting technique that uses hot wax, to which colour pigments are added. The heated wax is added to a specially prepared wooden board, and
Kei River Mouth Recycled Plastic Water Bottle Butterflies on canvas 100cmx100cm A tad dehydrated after the ride over the Brenton Hills. Chaffing an issue in the humidity, so definitely need to use anti-chaffing cream to my prep list. ‘Brothers’ a new scarf design completed and on order (hopefully in the Studio at the beginning of March). The hectic increase in shipping and general COVID global inflation