J9 afternoon. Salmon, crunchy Asian salad, fried capers and crustless tomato tart. Fabulous wines, with the Delair Graff Cab Franc Rose in the sunshine, special. Although, the last touch of Raats Cab Franc was deliciousness. My portrait painting. Agonizing. Proportions not working. The idea of the painting. In my head. Bogged down. In detail. Rather than fluid strokes of, perhaps. Different. Endless possibilities.
A New Day Oil on canvas 60cmx30cm Ferrario ‘Indigo’ No. 453, from my magic box of paints for the portait painting that’s on the easel in the studio. Blocking in the huge bits of the canvas and seeing how to simplify, yet bring in the uniqueness of the artist. Ride over the Brenton hills. My mountain bike making increasingly alarming noises. A host of
Great exhibition ‘United Emergence’ by the Knysna Arts Society for Freedom Day. A good selection of art, across a diverse spectrum. Beach walk (dog play) on a wind free morning. Courgette bilinis topped with cream cheese and sweet peppers. Grilled chicken breast, anchovy dressing Caesar salad with hot smoked salmon. The Peter Goff Wood’s recipe for chicken and leak pie filling sensational. A small artwork
Sad to hear that one of our characters in town has passed away. Joseph ‘Jazz’ Booysen was an amazing subject for my award winning portrait painting. Chilly. Well, cold! For us. 6 degrees! Dog, walk around Leisure Island. Windless, silence, that touch of mist over the low-lying grasslands. Sorting the crate for packing the paintings accepted for two exhibitions. My recycled plastic water bottle butterfly
‘Lotus’ 150cmx200cm Acrylic and recycled plastic water bottle butterflies on canvas 150cmx200cm Drawing inspiration from the Abstract Impressionist painter, Joan Mitchell and the painting I did of Lotus flowers in Hanoi, Vietnam. Joan Mitchell’s work, 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,
The. ‘Flex’ on the large canvas giving me a headache trying to keep the rows and columns straight, as the recycled plastic water bottle butterfly artwork ‘Lotus’ heads towards the midpoint. Humbling that a collector was so engaged with my art. ‘I am so proud to be an owner of one of your art pieces.’ Rain. Marie Claude’s anchovy dressing for the Caesar salad. Cream, that
Japanese Anemones Acrylic on canvas 20cmx20cm Home. A tad stressful, with pilot having to ‘thump’ the plane down in poor visibility and rain. The runway in Jozie, flanked by drifts of pink and white cosmos flowers. A sure sign that autumn is approaching. Painted a million times, I’m always a tad apprehensive about finding something new to say. However, the architectural stem shape and archetypal
Detail from my painting ‘Fish Market’ Oil on cotton 150cmx50cm Hanging in Mum’s house. The glories of a mature Highveld garden, with trees offering shade from the fierce summer sun. A garden where delicate white Japanese Anemone blossoms sparkle against green and grey foliage. Rumbling thunderstorms, overlying the birdsong of wood hoopoe trying to make a hole in the nesting log. Barbets, red chested woodpeckers, grey
‘White-on-White’ Acrylic and recycled plastic water bottle butterflies on canvas received a Special Merit Award for ‘Art of Outstanding Quality’ at the 12th Annual International Abstracts Exhibition, chosen from 1,206 entries from 34 different countries. Underpainting for the ‘Lotus’ art piece using a light gray mixture of Cobalt Blue and Burnt Sienna. The 2mx1,5m canvas fun to work with. Thunder driving Prince demented. The Commissioned work
Last of the 800 recycled plastic water bottle butterflies cut out and painted for the large ‘Lotus’ painting. A few concerns about the muddle of what butterfly goes where, amongst the 32 rows and 25 butterflies in each row. Underpainting of the canvas started. Testing greenish, grayish, blueish sections to see if any work better than white. Fabulous time on Buffs beach at sundown