‘Dancer’ Oil on Italian linen (35cmx50cm) 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. Came across a painting I didn’t recall doing a few years ago of Wild Peacock (60cmx60cm), our fabulous deli in Stellenbosch. It’s painted in oil on a cotton canvas
Mobi-kennel packed as though we were leaving town forever. The road down to Cape Town a ribbon between yellow and green canola and wheat fields that stretched between the sea and the mountains. A couple of stops to let Prince stretch and to see how, and if it's possible, to get anything to eat as a diabetic at service stations. Cafe Roux, for a
In the cottage garden, the sage are in full flower. Their purple spikes above the patio wall, a magnet for sunbirds. The fuchsias have their last late summer burst of flowers. Pink lanterns in the afternoon sunlight. Double yellow hibiscus creating a corner of brilliance.A charcoal illustration of fuchsia flowers in the garden. Simple lines with my left hand. My body contorting itself
A breath seems loud on a still morning in the vineyards. Warm tranquil days painting vineyard leaves a gazillion shades of autumn, squeezed between impatient winds, stripping trees.Shoulder a bother. Physio working hard to ease traumatized muscles.Packing paintings into the blue studio cupboards for the move to Knysna. Stories from a dozen years, full of energy and emotion. Brown cardboard pyramids in empty
A breezy, autumish sort of day in the vineyards. The patio covered in leaves from the grapevine. The wind unsettled, in that 'Chocolat' vein, driving changes. With our summer visitors over, packing has started in the cottage. A spot or too of blood not unexpected.Something special about wrapping paintings and sending them off to their new homes. Edith agreeing to act as courier for those
Oil on Canvas 120cm x 90cmThe cottage full of the smell of linseed oil and wet paint from my canvas of the harvest in Stellenbosch.As the harvest nears its end and the vines begin to change into their gold, maroon and yellow colours, so our time in the cottage runs down.
Theater called which required moving away from the vineyards and being out in the dark. Did our best to go in disguise to confuse the monsters lurking on the fringes of the Platteland. Socks, shoes and jacket meant that I was almost unrecognisable.The production of MacBeth, adapted into Afrikaans, left us drained and exhilarated. The tension created through the play, particularly the last
An exhibition at the cottage of the paintings I did in the Thirty Day challenge. The curved, white bench seat making a perfect exhibition space. Dinner with Mum at the Manor House, transformed with stunning black and white photographs on the walls of life on the Zevenwacht Estate. The high ceilings give them room to breath, and intrigue dinners. Fermenting grape skins, discards from
Jumping through all the hoops for compliance for the cottage. Worse than a medical as they check gas, electricity, water, beetles, structure and whether it should actually even be here! An overcast, moody sort of start to the day. Excellent weather for an early walk in the vineyards. Legs a tad heavy after the full moon hike up the mountain at Delvera. One of
Deluxe Coffee Works. A new artisanal coffee roaster in Stellies. The fixed wheel bicycle and surfboard should have been an indicator. And if not, the portraits along the wall of guys sporting various strange haircuts should have rung alarm bells. This is serious coffee that explodes your senses so they vibrate with the steel guitar music. Wind chimes, and pine needles, as the wind