11.12.14

Masked Weaver #438


Daily painting #438 pen, ink and watercolor postcard for the post card art group.

After 2 long days in the car, we decided to spend a restful day at home today. Home being our temporary abode, a rustic thatched house right on the border of the Kruger National Park overlooking the reserve and the Crocodile River. An abundance of wildlife wonders freely around like a huge assortment of buck, wildebeest, giraffe warthog, zebra etc. About the only things you won't find in our back garden are the more dangerous cats, elephant, hippo and rhino. Although all that separates us from Kruger is a fence so one always has to be cautious, on your guard and particularly careful at night. A fence will certainly not keep leopard out! We filled the bird feeders in the garden (you know how much I love birds!!!) and spent most of the cooler morning watching and waiting. The bird life here is fantastic but today I decided to share a little masked weaver with you. They are quite common and we do get them at home but I love the mating males dramatic colour! You will be forgiven for wondering why he appears to have a large green foot...well lets just say I had to create some impromptu foliage when I opened my ink pen and it splattered over my completed painting!!!! Grrrr...but such is daily painting, anything can happen and I wasn't going to start again!
As I painted I watched a hippo lumbering out of the water in the Crocodile River, a rather large lizard sunning himself rather close for comfort (reptiles are my least favorite) and some zebra were grazing the grass really close to the house....my studio couldn't get much better than that!
In my studio....
The heat of the day ended with a magnificent African thunder storm which seemed to roll in over the bush veld. We watched the lightening and heard the thunder and felt the gentle breeze which started to rustle every tree as the storm crept closer over the very dry Crocodile River...
You can see an image I loaded on Instagram by clicking here.

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art
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