Art Blog-Wild Life Art- African Ethnic Art- Landscapes-Still life-Abstract

2010-06-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

I have not had much time for blogging lately but I am still around. This painting of an African Lady Titled "African Beauty" is my latest piece. It is quite a large mixed media painting, acrylic and oil 1m x 70 cm on stretched canvas.

The photo does not do it enough justice, I took quite a few but just could not get it right. I am not sure if it was the lighting but I tried various settings, with a flash and without and eventually chose the best of a not so good bunch of photo's.

So far this has been my best year for sales, I was hoping to build up a reasonable stock for the Fifa world cup football tournament starting in a weeks time. Unfortunately though just about everything is sold and I only have a few pieces available.

Right now our city seems soccer mad and the tourists and teams are starting to pile in for the extravaganza; and the leisurely pace that I work at will only produce a few more paintings before it ends in a months or so.

I hope you enjoy the painting.

Nguni Cattle

2010-01-21T12:07:00.000-08:00

I painted this montage of Nguni cattle in acrylic for my cousin. The Nguni cattle are the beautiful cattle of the Zulu nation indigenous to South Africa. They are renowned for their fertility and resistance to disease. The variegated skin colours can present many different skin patterns and a variety of horn shapes.

These cattle play an important social and economic role in the rural societies and are also used to pay a brides dowry. They are also a measure of wealth and importance for the individuals who own them as well as for their village as whole.

The once mighty Zulu King Chaka understood the cultural and economic importance of these cattle and seized control of all the Nguni cattle in his domain and bred them according to their colour patterns to produce skins and rawhide shields for the various regiments of his army for easy recognition. His personal guards attire was from the pure white Nguni cattle of the royal herd.

Modern Art

2009-12-24T06:38:00.000-08:00

Here's something a little different from my normal ethnic or wild life paintings. I have always like underwater scenes and thought I would try and paint some fishes under water. This one was painted with acrylics and I must say I still prefer oils but the current market I am painting for dictates that I use a cheaper medium as Oils are more expensive and take longer to dry.

The next one is also an acrylic on stretched canvas depicting a modern art city scape. This is also not my normal choice of subject but there is a fair demand for the more abstract typ of art so I thought I would have a bash and it turned out pretty well.

Leopard

2009-11-11T01:55:00.000-08:00

I am still trying to master working with acrylics and recently painted a picture of this young leopard lying in the grass. I got the impression that the grass was more of a distraction and did not do much for the painting. I then proceeded to remove the grass and give it a more dense background.

The problem with acrylic paints is that they dry so quickly and are far more difficult to blend than oils or even water colours. After much battling with different shades and tones I finally came up with this second painting.

I am still not sure I like the result and will probably leave it in the work in progress rack until some other idea comes along and I change it again.

I love painting wild animals and the shy secretive African Leopard is one of the commonly referred to African big five animals along with the Lion, Elephant, Buffalo and the Rhino.

Resting Post

2009-10-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Plains Zebra

The Burchells/plains Zebra with its distinctive upright mane is the most common species of Zebra found in Africa. A relative of the horse, this stocky animal with its wide black and white stripes that are as unique to each animal as finger prints are to humans roam the African plains in huge herds.

Zebra's are sociable animals that roam freely with other herbivores such as antelope, buffalo, wildebeest and giraffe; feeding exclusively on many different species of grass.
They are found in the grasslands and savannas from East Africa to Southern Africa generally close to a permanent water source.

Zebras can live for about 30 years but only have a life expectancy of about 12 years in the wild due to the presence of their main predators like lions and spotted hyena’s.

Males can weigh as much as 300 kg and generally only mate at 5 to 6 years of age. Female are slightly smaller and give birth to their first young at about three years of age suckling them for about 6 months.

Acrylic on stretched canvas

Mother and Child

2009-06-13T00:47:00.000-07:00

A Kenyan artist friend of mine recently approached me to do some paintings for him to sell at some of our local flea markets. He sells his and other artists works at various markets around Durban.

These venues are normally quite busy tourist destinations, many of whom look for African art to take back with them.

I have visited these markets on many occasions and the sheer number of artists displaying their work always surprised me.

On any given day there could be 20 artists at a single venue with hundreds of paintings to view.

The average price of the paintings seemed to range between $50 and about $200 per painting.

I did not think I could ever compete in that market as the prices were very competitive with some heavy bargaining and haggling over prices. My challenge therefore was to be able to produce some competitive pieces suitable for these markets.

In the end I decided to do some paintings in acrylics, on canvases that I had made rather than the normal high quality ones I buy. I have never painted with acrylics before and found the medium difficult and unforgiving to work with initially. Totally different from working with oil paints.

This was my first effort, which I have called "Mother and Child." Somehow I managed to mess up the photo and by the time I downloaded the photo and realized it was not a good effort the painting was sold.

This new venture has kept me fairly busy as all the paintings seem to sell fairly quickly and my friend is requesting work at a faster rate than I can paint them. I was hoping to open a stall of my own but I just cannot paint fast enough to build up a decent stock.

The Watering Hole

2009-04-11T04:09:00.000-07:00

Finally I have managed to complete, this 1.5m x 1m oil painting of Gemsbok (Oryx) "At the watering hole."

As an artist I try to concentrate on and paint about the beauty and wonder of all the good things that surround us. My love of nature and the abundant wild life in our country inspires me to capture these marvelous creations on canvas and share my joy with others.

I had hoped to have the painting finished earlier in the week ready for display in a local gallery prior to the Easter weekend. This however was not possible due to an incident on Monday evening that prevented me from finishing it till this morning.

When afforded the privilege of traveling abroad and people asked where I came from I would normally answer "proudly South African." However recent events in my personal life have changed that attitude and I no longer feel that sense of pride and belonging to a country terrorised by criminals.

The following incident is a stark reminder of the day to day reality that is the norm in this crime ridden country of ours.

Every evening my partner and I go for a walk along our beautiful beachfront to get out of the apartment and relax away from the work environment. We normally walk for about an hour then go home and have dinner before continuing to work or relax in front of the TV.

We were about 5 min away from our apartment on the way back when it suddenly started to rain. As we were so close to home we decided not to seek shelter but hurry on home instead. The sun was just starting to set and although it is a busy area with many locals and tourists out walking at that time we normally don't like to be out after dark.

Suddenly 6 thugs appeared out of nowhere, two were armed with knives. There was no demand for money or jewelery. Two of them threw me to the ground and my vision exploded into a million stars as as my head hit he pavement with a loud thud.

One of the thugs sat on me and started prying the rings off my fingers and the bracelet off my arm whilst the other held a knife to my throat and grabbed my cell phone and shoes that had come off when I hit the ground.

As suddenly as the attack started they disappeared and I lay barefoot in the rain on the pavement crying from the pain in my head. My only thought was that my partner was dead as four of them had attacked him and through the commotion I could hear them shouting that they were going to stab him.

Suddenly he was at my side to help me and though I could hardly think straight from the pain, shock and fright I was relieved that he was alive.

Of the four who attacked him one was armed with a knife and kept lunging at him whilst the other three tried to empty his pockets and throw him to the ground. As the knife wielding thug lunged at him he stood his ground and managed to punch him to the ground. This caused the rest of them to turn and run.

The violence of the attack caught us both by complete surprise and separated us, each to fend for himself as best he could. Had they surrounded us and asked for the jewelery and cell phone and whatever money we had on us we would have handed it over. There was no need for the violence. Muggings are commonplace on our beachfront with many tourists being attacked on a daily basis.

We had previously discussed the possibility of being mugged on our own doorstep and agreed that we would not resist but hand over the goods rather than risk our lives.

The perpetrators however were obviously intent on violently disabling their victim's before robbing them. As I lay across the pathway in the pouring rain a passer by stepped right over me whilst another went around me and hurried on without offering any assistance.

The numerous security guards, and police who normally patrol the area across the road from the Southern Sun Elangeni hotel, where the attack occurred, were conspicuous by their absence. Eventually my partner had no choice but to lift me up and help me home as we had no means of phoning for the police or other assistance. The appalling apathy of passers by, motorists and others who witnessed the attack leaves me in abject despair for the future of our country.

I know that every big city round the world has its share of crime and muggings but few can compare with the abominable statistics on South African crime.

On this the eve of the elections in our country, and it being almost a foregone conclusion that the ANC will once again sweep to victory, I am reminded of their appalling record of dealing with crime and violence. The acronym ANC no longer stands for African National Congress but is more commonly referred to as "Abuse (of power)
"Nepotism " "Corruption and crime"

The soccer world cup 2010 is just around the corner and I do not believe that the government is either willing or able to control the crime in our cities, ( and why should they when convicted criminals are amongst the ranks of their parliamentary candidates).

For a few days I was not able to do any work, my body ached all over and my wrist must have been sprained when I was hit to the ground. Though poorer for my ordeal I have recovered sufficiently to continue with my normal life but the mental scars will remain for some time to come. Sadly I am now counting the days till I can leave my country permanently and return to NZ.

Work in Progress 2

2009-04-03T04:33:00.000-07:00

I was hoping by now to have this large Oil painting of Gemsbok (Oryx) finished by this weekend.

The reflection in the water is proving quite a challenge to get them exactly the same as the others.

In the photo I am working from the sun is glinting off the animals so I have to try and match that gleam in the reflection which I have not quite got right yet.

I suppose it would have been easier if there was a ripple on the water creating a distorted image then the reflection would not have to be an exact image.

The water in the desert oasis is very still so the reflection is almost a mirror image of the two animals drinking.

Fortunately this is not a commissioned work so I suppose it won't matter if I take another week to finish it off.

TROGON QUETZAL

2009-03-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

One of the Trogon species these beautiful birds range from South eastern Arizona to Argentina.

The Quetzal's habitat is rain forest from southern Mexico to Bolivia. The Quetzal was the sacred bird of the ancient Mayans. It is also the national emblem of Guatemala who's currency also happens to be the Quetzel.

For sheer beauty and gorgeous plumage few birds surpass this one. This is also a water colour painting from my 2009 series.

I suppose whenever I lack inspiration or cannot think of something to paint then I will always revert to painting these beautiful creatures. I get a lot of personal satisfaction and enjoyment out of painting birds.

The sheer number of them with all the amazing colours will ensure that I always have plenty of material to paint.

Work in Progress

2009-03-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

This large painting of a Gemsbok (Oryx) drinking at a water hole is my current project that will probably keep me busy for the next week or two. The Southern Oryx is mostly a desert antelope found mainly in the Namib Desert of Southern Africa.

After doing a rough sketch from a small photo, you can probably just make out the sketch of the reflection of the two antelope in the water. I am now doing the background and will fill in all the details later. In this case the background details are mainly small rocks and stones which are not my favorite subject to paint so I will probably do them last.

Sadly!! because of their magnificent horns they are also a sought after hunters trophies. The female is often targeted for her longer thinner horns which is the only way to differentiate between the male and female. The male has long straight horns that can grow to about 85 cm, whilst the females thinner horns curve outwards and then inwards at the top.

About 100 of them were released into the Tularosa Basin in New Mexico in the United States in the late 60's and have multiplied to about 3000 antelope. So if ever you get to New Mexico then this Beautiful Antelope is worth seeing.

Blue Winged Pitta

2009-03-27T03:23:00.000-07:00

Hi To All

No I have not just disappeared off the face of the earth, I am back in Africa and don't have a permanent Internet connection. Our local service provider can only provide me with adsl at the end of April.

I suppose that's Africa for you!!! No amount of begging or pleading can get them to install any quicker. So until then I just have to be patient and hope it arrives on due date.

Thank you to all of you who have continued to support my blog by dropping your ec cards.

By end of January 2009 I reached my 100k milestone in my first year of blogging and that is mainly due to my friends at EC. Thank you all very much!!!!

That does not mean I have been idle, so I am posting some of my recent works and one of my works in progress.

After a months break I have started painting again. As usual my love of birds was my starting point and these three are my most recent ones.

This is a small water colour about A4 size. I find that by starting with a subject that I love to paint it helps me get back into the swing of things.

The funny thing is I am not a bird watcher and most of my bird paintings are from photos either taken at a bird park or from books and magazines.

This little bird is called a Blue Winged Pitta and is generally found from South East Asia to Australia. They are forest dwellers who spend their time hopping around the dense forest floors foraging for food. They avoid flying as much as possible and only take to the air when they are forced to.

Serval Cats

2009-01-11T14:34:00.000-08:00

Water colour painting

The Serval cat, an animal about twice the size of a large domestic cat is distributed widely throughout Africa. They have unusually long legs, small heads, very large ears and short tails. Their coats are a yellowish sandy coulor with buff to off white underparts.

They have black spots on their bodies that in certain parts merge into stripes. Adult Serval cats can weigh between 8 and 20 kg's and grow to 3 feet long and stand 24 inches at the shoulder with the female slightly smaller than the male.

Wild Servals are more common on the open savannas in tall grass near wetlands or rivers. Their large ears can apparently hear the slight motion of a rodent up to 20 feet away. Their characteristic pouncing in the long grass allows them to also target birds in flight and have been recorded leaping 10 to 15 feet straight up and pluck a bird in flight out of the air.

These mainly nocturnal, terrestrial cats are also good climbers and are equally comfortable in water fishing for a meal. Their amazing adaptability has aided the survival of an animal that was once hunted for it beautiful coat.

Serval cats have long been held in captivity as domestic cats dating back thousands of years to the ancient Egyptians. More recently they have been bred in Europe and the USA.

So for all you cat lovers looking for the ultimate exotic cat, Servals although still a wild cat can
make a good human companion.

2008-12-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

South Africa is a fairly large country with many diverse ethnic groups and cultures. In recent years many cultural villages have been developed around the country. These open-air museums afford locals and tourists the opportunity to learn more about the various ethnic groups and their individual traditions and cultures.

A visit to one of these villages allows the tourist the opportunity to experience tribal life while dance groups chant and sing to the rhythmic beat of drums. Stick fighting, traditional dress, beer making and the wonderful African bead-work and other traditional arts and crafts like paintings, wood carving, basket weaving are all on show.

These villages also go a long way towards the economic empowerment of the craftsman in the area as the villages are marketed as tourist attractions that offer an outlet for the sale of their arts and crafts.

The province of Kwazulu Natal where I lived for a number of years is home to the Zulu people, a proud nation with a history of courage and a fighting spirit dating back to the pre-colonial era.

Whilst these villages depict the traditions and culture of a proud people the stark reality of everyday life is a far cry from what is put on show for visitors. Poverty, unemployment and increasing HIV disease are the order of the day. The income from the shows and sale of arts and crafts is important and does benefit the locals.

These fun water colours show some of the day to day life in an African village.

Sunset on the Lake

2008-11-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

I know I have not posted much lately, but then I have also not painted much either. I seem to spend my days running around to galleries, organising framing, shipping and every other aspect of my art, but what I enjoy the most and that is sitting down and painting.

I must be honest its not the hectic running around I had in mind for myself. I suppose though once the hard work is done things will settle down and I will be able to concentrate on painting. I brought about 50 paintings with me and the new ones I have painted and I supposed its just been a long hard slog to find suitable outlets for all of them.

This oil painting I have titled sunset on the lake. Compared to SA the sun sets much later here which I supposed is also helped by daylight saving. Auckland is a city with ocean and waterways just every where. Though this is not a particular Auckland scene its just my imagination of a tranquil home on a lake.

Blog Awards

2008-11-01T00:58:00.000-07:00

If "The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions" , then I must be teetering on the very edge of that fiery inferno.

In recent months a number of people have bestowed awards on me, to which I have not adequately responded. It has been my intention to reply to all and express my appreciation publicly. As a mere mortal who every now and then appreciates a pat on the back to say well done the awards go a long way to encourage me and spur me on to try harder. Thank you to all for honouring me in this way. I feel really awful for not replying sooner but time has not been on my side.

The move from South Africa has not been without its challenges, the most difficult of all being the financial consideration. The South African currency is approx R6 to one NZ $ and I had to convert my Rands to NZ $. Whilst I don't think NZ is that much more expensive than other countries I can't seem to shake the habit of converting all the prices to Rands and doing a comparison before purchasing anything.

When you earn local currency its a reasonable place to live, but when you use Rands then things get a tad expensive. I had to have some paintings framed the other day and the average cost was about $250 per frame.

These were not large paintings that had to be framed but I found it really expensive. That is the equivalent of about R1500 in South African currency. The same quality of framing there would probably only have cost about R500, so its about three times as much per frame. This all affects the sale price and I had to increase the prices drastically. The same applies to many other things I have had to purchase here.

Financial survival is paramount so I have had to concentrate my efforts on earning some local currency by selling my art here in NZ.. My blog has been running now for 8 months and if I consider the income earned for the time spent then my priority has to be focused on the traditional methods of selling my art.

My total income to date from blog adverts has been $899 from all sources including including AdSense, affiliates and click bank which amounts to a little over $100 per month. Whilst the extra income has been most welcome it does not pay the monthly bills.

I know there are many other sources of online income to explore, I read all about them every day when I do my entre card drops. I don't however have the time to fully explore all the options. During this time I have also managed to sell 2 paintings as a result of direct enquiries from my blog.

All said and done I am reasonably happy with my blogging results but have to keep a proper perspective on things and blogging has for now been relegated to second place in my busy life.

So there you have it!! I make time every day to drop 300 cards and will continue to do so as it is good for traffic and there are numerous blogs that I thoroughly enjoy reading which gives a bit of meaning to the ritual.

Today is one of those cold wet and miserable days here so my plans were changed and I am using this time to catch up on some blogging. As for following the rules of each award, this is often time consuming and when I do identify recipients I feel worthy of the award more often than not they already have it. I can't see the point of giving them the award again.

Now back to the awards.

Sweet Home blog awards

I feel honoured that Louise from Island Wench feels that through my blog I have been able to share some of the beauty love and joy in the world around us with my readers.

Arte Y Pico Award

Thank you to SueEllen a talented Canadian whose fine art on the Creaky Easel has always inspired me.

My thanks also to Tink from the Netherlands whose site Tinkerbell always makes for some interesting reading.

The Brilliant Blog Award

To Durano from the Spitting Vessel, a site I try to make a point of visiting daily because of the brilliant writing and great content, thank you for honouring me this way.

The fashion site from California The Mommy and me Boutique whose array of beautiful aprons make being seen in the kitchen more exciting is worth checking out, thank you for this award.

"I Love Your Blog" award from Lea but unfortunately no link was left to help identify the site, or the actual award. My humble thanks for the award, it is always pleasing to know someone derives a bit of pleasure from my efforts.

Last but not least there are about 60 comments still to be published and attended to. The problem with procrastinating is that it compounds the work load and I must make an effort to attend to these daily. Thank you to all who have left comments I do appreciate them.

Timeless Elegance

2008-10-31T17:13:00.000-07:00

The uniqueness of vintage apparel has always appealed to me, not that I actually wear anything vintage or have any vintage clothing in my wardrobe. Unless of course we take our fast paced, ever changing fashion world and consider that I have a few outfits and jeans that I still wear dating back 5 years or more that might already be considered vintage by some. Hopefully they will come back into fashion before I wear them out.

This water colour painting was inspired by my granddaughter Nicole who did a rough sketch and then asked me to do a painting for her. I get the feeling that she has also inherited the art genes and just needs some encouragement to try and paint something herself.

The timeless elegance of the vintage hats and clothing does not lend itself to our modern lifestyle, and I suppose someone dressed in a complete vintage outfit would look like they were wearing a costume on a movie set or theatre production.

A mixture of contemporary and antique dress would be an interesting combination even in our era. Then again!! maybe in 20 years or so, when I'm a doddering old lady shuffling along with my cane, the vintage line will become the fashion again and I will be reminded of my youth growing up in colonial Africa.

Party Theme

2008-10-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes as artists we are called upon perform unusual tasks. Recently a company threw a party to celebrate some or other event, and wanted a cowboy, come country and western theme for the party. I was given the task of doing three large murals for them. Well I thought they would be murals that they would paint over once the celebration was done.

The company agreed to supply all the material as I felt it would not be useful to me in the future. I also allowed myself a week to complete the project. Upon arrival I was rater amused to find a few large rolls of calico sheeting, numerous jars of fabric paint, lengths of timber, saw, square hammer and nails. Oh yes! and a pair of scissors and a staple gun.

I say bemused because I stood and looked at this lot and asked myself "What on earth am I supposed to do with this pile of junk" A brief discussion with the responsible person soon enlightened me and I could either walk away or rise to the challenge. I was on my own, and as always needed the money so I decided what the heck!! "Get on with the job" Bitching won't help.

So if you can Imagine this Granny with a hammer and nails constructing wooden frames, working on the floor without any fancy work benches or vices, well that's how day one was spent. Once the frames were complete and the fabric stapled to the frames I painted the fabric with a white PVA and left it overnight to stiffen to a workable canvas sheet.

As you can see the frames were somewhat taller than I am so a lot of my time was spent standing on a ladder. Though it turned out to be a fun project it had its challenges, painting on a large surface without a solid backing left little room for error and was difficult at best.

Having missed day one as a result of my construction efforts, I was also under pressure to finish all three before the big bash. With all the mad rush and pressure to complete the project I forgot to take a camera and photograph my handy work. I thought I would be able to pop in the Monday and quickly take some photos. The company maintenance staff who were conspicuous by their absence while I was struggling to construct the frames had however dismantled everything and rolled up the canvas for possible use in the future.

One of the staff members did however take a photo with her mobile and was kind enough to give me a copy which is the one above. This was also unfortunately taken prior to the completion of that particular painting as you can see by the wagon wheels which I had done in rough with a dustbin lid and painted over later. The quality of the photo is also not the greatest and also only shows a portion of the painting.

Sadly however this story does not have a happy ending, when it came time to cough up the agreed up fee the company MD Reneged and refused to pay. His excuse was that the person who commissioned me to do the job apparently did not have the necessary authority to do so.

I find this rather strange as the person concerned was appointed co-ordinator for the party project and presented management with a budget that included the cost of the material and my fee. The company is a well known large hotel but due to pending legal action I cannot name and shame them here.

Whats even more confusing is that during his party speech the MD commended the co-ordinator on her fantastic effort specially with the theme. I was invited as a guest to the party and was congratulated by all and sundry including the MD for the paintings when I was introduced as the artist.

Well there goes the Christmas bonus, but I suppose a lesson learned. On the bright side though I have been approached by other people present at the party to do a few commissioned paintings in the near future. So maybe all is not lost.

Big Cats

2008-09-07T19:26:00.000-07:00

The Leopard is the most secretive of all the African big cats. This elusive behavior probably makes it the most cunning of the big cats.

Leopards are solitary nocturnal hunters preying on anything from fish to birds, monkeys, baboons and antelope. The natural enemies of Leopards are Lions and Hyena's who often attempt to steal their kill.

This forces the leopard to haul its larger prey up into a tree where it can feed in relative safety. So pound for pound this makes it the strongest climber of the cats, able to bring down prey much larger than itself and haul it to safety high up in the trees.

The spots on Leopards are called "rosettes" which can be irregular shaped circles or squares depending on the area they inhabit. The East African Leopards in general have circular rosettes while the Southern African leopards have square ones.

Their coats can also vary from a light fawn colour in dry warm areas to a darker shades in thick forest areas. The spots create an almost perfect camouflage for their habitat.

Cheetah's are considered the fastest animals on earth can reach speeds of up 110 km an hour within a few seconds.

Unlike Leopards they live in well structured social groups. They hunt their prey by stalking to within 10 to 20 meters before setting off on the chase. The chase only lasts from 20 seconds to a minute with only about fifty percent of their efforts being rewarded with a kill.

Their kill is often stolen from them by larger predators like lions, leopards and hyena. They generally feed on small antelope, young animals and birds.

Cheetah's can be distinguished from the other big cats by their long slender bodies and small heads with distinctive tear lines that run from the corner of their eyes to the side of their nose.

Cheetah's have been kept in captivity for more than 5000 years but do not breed well in captivity with numbers being maintained by capturing wild ones. New cheetah's born in captivity generally die within a month of birth

The cheetah population has declined over the years and are only found in about 25 African countries and about 100 in Iran. They suffer from lack of diversity in their gene pool and this had an effect on their breeding, Cheetah cubs also become prey to the larger carnivore's and ninety percent die within 3 months in the wild.

There are estimated to be 12 to 15,000 remaining in the wild with the biggest threat to their numbers being dwindling habitat, shooting and trapping as they are considered livestock predators.

These two oils were painted by Debbie Thom my daughter, whom I will be featuring occasionally as a guest artist on my site.

This brings me to the question. "Are artists born artistic? or is it a skill that can be learned by non artistic people? Whilst I have no doubt even a born artist can learn new skills to improve their techniques and interpretation. I cannot help but wonder if all the famous artists were born with specific genes that make them artists.

The reason I ask the question is simply because like me Debbie has had no formal education in art and to my knowledge has never had an art lesson in her life. Art has always been a hobby for her and she is quite content to be a mother and housewife who paints in her spare time.

This leads me to believe that certain artistic skills are inherited, as my mother used to do drawings when she was young and this must be where my sister and I inherited our skills. I also have a cousin who is an art teacher in Australia.

It would be interesting to know if any genetic studies have been done to determine if there are specific artistic genes that are passed on from one generation to another.

Maybe the word art is too broad a term as there are many different forms of art and I have no doubt many of the art forms can be taught to anyone with the inclination to learn them. So my question will be specifically about painters and sculptors rather than the arts in general. That does not mean I only consider painters and sculptors true artists.

My next task though is to try and persuade Debbie to put her god given talent to more use and take her art more seriously. I think together we can start our own gallery or collaborate in some way.

I would hate her to one day and have regrets as I did, I did not use my talent earlier in my life. I have also learned though not to interfere in my kids lives as they have their own ideas and will ultimately make their own decisions without any influence from me.

A Forgotten Era

2008-08-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Period costume and feminine fashion through the ages have always fascinated me. This oil paining of an era past, high lights a time when hats formed an integral part of every women's wardrobe.

Except for a few brand labeled caps, used for protection from the sun I don't have a hat in my wardrobe any more and certainly cannot remember when last I wore one as a true fashion accessory, I think it might have been my daughters wedding 20 years ago.

Anyway I just loved this picture, the original was a black and white photo of who knows, so I decided to add some colour and see how it turned out. I hope you like it.

The move to NZ has been a bit more difficult than I thought. On the way over some thief decided to open my suitcase and steal some of my belongings. We are advised at Oliver Tambo airport (the new name for Johannesburg International Airport) to shrink wrap our luggage so the thieves don't get their grubby paws on our belongings.

I knew there was a lot of theft going on at the airport but assumed as I was not flying SAA this would not happen. It seems SAA handle the baggage for all the airlines though, so if you are flying in or out of SA then you need to make certain your baggage is adequately protected.

It was wonderful to re-unite with my daughter and grand children after an absence of two years, it was also very sad to leave my mom behind but I know she is in good hands with my sisters.

Coming from Durban we are used to an almost perpetual summer, Auckland so far has been freezing, wet and miserable, apparently their worst winter in about 30 years. Fortunately all my clothing from Ireland came across when my daughter immigrated here 3 years ago, or I certainly would not have had the sort of winter clothing needed to cope with this weather.

On my first visit to NZ the South African Rand exchange rate was about R3.80 to one NZ $ which seemed to me like the cost of living between the two countries was similar. Now the rate is 6 to 1 and I find myself comparing prices by converting to rands first and thinking how expensive everything is here.

Having looked at the negatives it is just wonderful to be in a country where to my mind the crime is low. We don't have to worry about locking up everything, switching on burglar alarms and looking over our shoulder for muggers when you take a walk down the road. People are not living in self imposed prisons and the streets and suburbs are clean and neat.

I finally have my own adsl connection and will hope fully be able to do posts more and answer mail and comments regularly. Thankfully I have been able to use a friends Internet to do my card drops since I have arrived. It would have been too much of an imposition to do any more than what was absolutely necessary from day to day while finding accommodation and getting settled.

To all you entrcard droppers I must say a huge thank you for your loyal support during this time. Thursday was a record for me with 515 drops, my dilemma now is how to cope with all the drops, I feel awful when I cannot reciprocate all on a daily basis. I try to make certain I get to each one at least every second day as I don't work from a list or bookmarked sites, I simply rely on my inbox and support those who drop on my site.

Malachite Kingfisher

2008-08-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

The Malachite Kingfisher is one of about 13 kingfisher species found in Southern Africa. This water colour was painted from a photo I used as a reference. At first I was not sure which of the kingfisher species it was because of the black beaks. The adult malachite has a red beak and after a bit of research I found that the juveniles have black beaks. So these must still be juvenile birds.

These small birds are fairly common around slow moving water and generally sit on low perches with their beaks down watching for fish or small crustaceans. When a fish is spotted it drops head first into the water and surfaces again immediately with fish in beak and devours it while sitting on its perch. They can also hover just above the water in a stationary position and then dive into the water to catch their fish. Their nests are normally tunnels in sand banks not necessarily close to water.

Other than the Kiwi, the Tui bird and Kia parrot I don't know much about NZ Birds and it will be interesting to photograph and research some while I am there. The medium will probably change to oil painting again as I left all my oil paints there on my last visit. Airlines seem to get stricter by the day when it comes to weight and the 20kg allowance hardly allows for much more the the clothes I will be taking with so all my art material will be staying behind.

Hopefully I will have time for one more post tomorrow and an opportunity to reply to the many comments and emails I have received in my absence, then I will probably be off line for about a week while I get organised on the other side.

A Time to Mourn

2008-08-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

I know I have been rather conspicuous by my absence this past month. And I must say a big thank you to Graham for doing all my card drops in my absence. I know there are many unanswered messages, recommendations and other emails I have not replied to.

We were supposed to leave for New Zealand a month ago and here we are still in Durban.

When I returned to South Africa from New Zealand a year and a half ago to be with my elderly parents. My dad, who at 85 was still active and independent, driving his own car, and going for walks on the beach every day, started showing signs of Alzheimer's disease.

Within 3 months of returning to SA he was no longer able to drive and started suffering from other ailments like heart disease and prostrate cancer as well. He took a turn for the worse just before we were supposed to fly out and we postponed the trip as I was worried I would never see him again.

After a scare and a week in intensive care he seemed to recover well but my mom was not longer able to provide him with the care he needed and had to place him in an Alzheimer's clinic where he could receive proper treatment.

It was hard to visit him as he no longer recognised us and even got a bit aggressive when my mom touched him and told her to leave him alone. I could not believe the rapid deterioration in so short a time.

Sadly he passed away shortly after being admitted, I was devastated as we were a very close family. Fortunately my younger sisters have rallied to help take care of my mom and I will finally be flying out to NZ on Tuesday.

I had heard that Alzheimer's patients can live for a long time with the proper treatment and care but the speed with with which it incapacitated my dad was unbelievable.

I feel terrible leaving my mom behind but I also have to spend time with my daughter and grand children. I know my mom is in good hands with my sisters and feel torn between her and my kids. When your family are twenty thousand kilometers apart and your grand children are growing up not knowing their grandmother then it is just as difficult to decide where you have to be.

As a result of this I have done very little painting and even less blogging. To the EC community who have continued to drop on my site and leave your wonderful comments, my apologies for seeming like I don't care and my heartfelt thanks for your support.

I have a painting or two that I will try and post tomorrow, I am not sure when I will be online in NZ so if I disappear for a week or so its simply because I am trying to get set up on the other side.

Caroline

Common Tern

2008-07-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

This was the second of my commissioned paintings. The Terns perched on the old fishing boat appear in abundance in many parts of the world ranging from North America to Europe and Africa.

For me the major challenge with this painting was to bring out the worn and neglected look of the old fishing boat lying on the sand.

What was once someones pride and joy now lies abandoned on the beach with little more purpose than a perch for any bird that chooses to rest a while on the old relic.

The cracked and rotting wood, old paint, rusted chain and worn metal bits, make me wonder about the history of this old fishing boat.

I am sure that if it could talk, it would regale us with tales of wild seas huge waves and of the hardy characters who sailed on it and cared for it because their very lives depended on it.

Sadly those characters are now probably also old and maybe abandoned like many of our elderly folk who have outlived their usefulness and can no longer contribute to our modern fast paced technological lifestyle.

Giant Kingfisher

2008-07-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is the largest species of the African Kingfisher's measuring up to 43cm and similar to a crow in size. They inhabit wooded areas along rivers, lakes and coastal lagoons. They generally perch on overhanging branches or rocks them swoop down on fish, crabs, rodents and lizards to feed.

These fiercely territorial birds nest in burrows, dug up to two meters deep into the upper parts of river banks. The the juvenile males normally have a fawn coloured chest and the adults brick red. Their large powerful beaks make them look rather strange in flight, and with an added loud call they are hard to miss.

This is the first of two paintings I was commissioned to do. The picture supplied by the client looks like it could have once been part of a calendar. The client is an avid birder and if he is satisfied with these two then there could be more work for me in the pipe line. I love painting birds and it is even more gratifying to be paid to for doing something I love.

To those of you who have commented and not had a response, my humble apologies. Along with the deadline to finish these paintings I am busy packing up my home here to go to my daughter in NZ for a while. Thank you all for your kind and inspiring words.

Going to market 2

2008-06-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

When I went to visit the galleries a few weeks ago I discovered one of my original set of five "Going To Market" paintings had not been sold. I was rather pleased and decided to rather add it to my own collection for posterity. They all differed slightly in colour, dress and people. Hope you enjoy this one as well.

Anyone for Marbles

2008-06-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

Just so the guys don't feel hard done by and imagined my world consisted only of the female gender I decided to go back into the unfinished file and dig out a painting I started in December last year.

The little boy playing marbles certainly invokes a bit of nostalgia which reminds me of an age when electronic toys did not exist. Children played safely outdoors and had loads of fun with simple toys. The dog looks as though he is keeping an eye on proceedings and is as intrigued with the game as the player.

I am currently working on two paintings that were commissioned, and should be finished in the next day or so. Both involve my feathered friends and have proved quite a challenge.