Cheers! #184

Daily painting #184. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

Tonight is Candice's last night under African skies before she heads off back to Chicago. Sadly I can't spend it with her as she is still in Zimbabwe, but I wish I could! I know she will be enjoying a beer on her last night....so I thought I would enjoy one with her....and toast her in spirit since we can't actually  'Ching' glasses together! My heart feels very sore tonight .....travel safely ....'til next time! CHEERS!

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Blue and white vintage brooch #183

Daily painting #183. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel 

Last week Monday we walked Kalk bay in Cape Town visiting all the quaint little shops. In a little antique shop huddled up against the train track and shoreline, I found this old blue and white ceramic brooch. I love vintage items and especially love old pieces of jewelry and brooches. I was actually looking for an old mosaic brooch in good condition when I found this one....and I couldn't resist!

183 days of painting little daily paintings means I have now been painting daily paintings for exactly half a year.....who would have thought what started out as a weeks challenge would still be going strong a half a year later!!!! Thanks for all your support, comments and purchases along the way...

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Ballet shoe #182

Daily painting #182. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

My daughter Amy is dancing for the next 3 days in an Annual Dance Congress. She starts at 8am and only finishes at 5pm with a few breaks in the day. Dancing requires such discipline and commitment and in that way it is a bit like painting .....ones strongest motivator can only be sheer passion!

She arrived home today exhausted, ate a light supper, showered and collapsed into bed! When I went in to kiss her goodnight she was already fast asleep.....ballet shoes abandoned on the floor next to her bed....until tomorrow!

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Morning sky #181

Daily painting #181. 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

Whenever I have been away from home, the one thing that really makes me feel like I am HOME again is the beautiful morning sky. Our view first thing in the morning over the east coast is just magnificent and what a wonderful way to start the day! It is especially beautiful at this time of year when the sun has moved slightly more north and the sun rises a little later. The mornings are a little cooler and the sun is not as blistering hot as it rises over the ocean. I am so grateful I am an early morning person....

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Garlic #180

Daily painting #180

180 paintings in 180 days....a milestone to celebrate!

My husband cooked supper tonight. He is the absolute braai* master and loves to stoke up that fire on our veranda, crack open a cold beer and sit poking and feeding the fire. I always tease him and say he must still have a bit of 'cave man' in him....it is his best to sit around a fire and cook. Well tonight he made a chicken potjie (a kind of stew made in a large black African cooking pot and cooked over an open fire)....potjie translated means little pot in Afrikaans. He sorted out all his ingredients, one of which was garlic and had everything chopped and ready....very organized.  It was absolutely delicious and so good to have a night off from cooking....a real treat! I think my husband must have missed me!

*braai -a South African word used to describe cooking over an open flame or hot coals, like a barbecue.

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Rose study No. 4 #179

Daily painting #179 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

Lots to do in the studio today other than just paint....unpack all my traveling paints etc from my trip, catch up on some accumulated admin (my worst) and prime a stack of little canvases for the next weeks daily paintings.....so much to do before I could actually sit down to paint....which is what I would prefer to do! So a simple little rose study today....once all the chores were completed!

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Cape protea #178

Daily painting #178. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel  SOLD

Travel is a strange phenomenon ....to wake up in one place and go to sleep in another! This morning we bid farewell to beautiful  Cape Town and made our way back to a lush, very green and very hot Durban. It was awesome to see my family....the smiles on my children's faces when I saw them is enough to melt my heart and it was fabulous to wrap my arms around them all and give them a huge cuddle. So it's back to Durban sunshine and humidity and back to my studio tomorrow....but for now....one last Cape Town protea.....

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Garden of proteas #177

Daily painting #177. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

Today has been a chilly day in Cape Town and by this afternoon it was misty and raining...perfect weather to do a bit of last minute shopping for some Sennelier oil paint at The Italian Art Shop (yes I know it is a French paint!). The time seems to have flown by too quickly and tomorrow it is time to head on back to the airport to fly home! I have missed my family so much and can't wait to see them but my heart is heavy to say goodbye to Candice who is off to Zimbabwe for a friends wedding and then back to Chicago! We have had an amazing time together and have been so lucky to stay at False Horizons in Glencairn. It is a beautiful holiday home with an amazing view! I wish I could relocate the proteas and fynbos in the garden  back to my garden in Durban .... I love the smell of the fynbos! A happy time in the Cape and lots of memories with my #cousinsister..... 'til next time!

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Glencairn protea #176

Daily painting #176  6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

We had an amazing day driving along the coast....it is so incredibly beautiful! No words or photos can really do it justice and sometimes we need to remind ourselves to just look, be visual, enjoy and appreciate rather than focus too much on capturing the image! I did post some photos to Instagram (find me at heidishedlock) if you would like to see, although they don't nearly do the coastline justice! We only got back to False Horizons in Glencairn in the late afternoon. I have been wanting to take some photos in the garden ....I love the Cape fynbos and flora that grows here. Such a variety of subtle colors and textures and I was delighted to find some proteas growing in the garden ....

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Late afternoon glow in Glencairn #175

Daily painting #175. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

What a fun day we had exploring Woodstock and a few little way out spots in Cape Town! This is such a vibrant city and I just love it! We arrived back in Glencairn to lots of cloud cover but a slight late afternoon glow in the sky....

There are some fun photos on my Instagram site if you want to see, look for heidishedlock on Instagram.

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Peter's wine #174

Daily painting #174. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

A relaxed first day....catching up with family and soaking up the beautiful view from the lovely holiday home called False Horizons where we are staying in Glencairn. I even had time to paint but probably should have done so BEFORE having a glass of wine.....!
I now have Candice around to document the daily painting.....

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Cherry tomato #173

Daily painting #173. A5 pen and watercolor on watercolor paper

A little pen and watercolor painting today. I didn't want to be washing and cleaning loads of brushes before leaving for the airport....so no oil paint today. I must say I enjoy the change every now and again. 

I have arrived safely in Cape Town and I can't wait to see Candice in the morning...

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Light study #172

Daily painting #172. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

Only 1 more sleep until Cape Town! My paints are packed, camera ready and I just have a million last minute things to do tomorrow before leaving for the airport tomorrow afternoon! It feels really strange to be setting off without my husband and kids, but they have all sorts of exciting things planned and I am sure they will be having way too much fun to miss me too much!

The Cape is so beautiful! I hope to share a couple of photos from my adventures so follow them on Instagram under the name heidishedlock....

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Floral study #171

Daily painting #171. 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

There are so many floral paintings on the go in my studio classes at the moment....it's like Spring is the air rather than Autumn! I didn't have much time to paint today so a quick little floral study after class finished. But I promise not to bore you with too many florals.

Feel like a little adventure? Well join me on my trip to Cape Town in 2 days time to spend some 'girly' catch up time with my cousin from Chicago....we plan to visit a few galleries, check out some local shops, sample some quality Cape Town coffee, wine and beer (not necessarily in that order!!!), soak up some of the local beauty and have a long overdue chin wag and catch up.....not to mention the hugest hug when I first see her! Candice and I are both only children and we grew up like sisters! She lives in Chicago now, so time spent together is precious and she inspired me to start (she literally set everything up) Paintings in the post, insisting I share my daily paintings....so we have some celebrating to do! I would love to share photos from my trip with you so follow along on my Instagram site http://instagram.com/heidishedlock and yes I will be taking my box of paints along.....

Follow our adventures in Cape Town on my Instagram page heidishedlock

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Baby tomatoes on the vine #170

Daily painting #170. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

I can't wait to roast these juicy little tomatoes in some good olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a hint of garlic and some fresh basil torn over the top ....a little feta cheese added towards the end is also yummy...now I am hungry! Simple and delicious!

170 paintings in 170 days..... 12 more days and I would have completed a daily painting for half of a year!

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Raspberries in a little dish #169

Daily painting #169. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

Raspberries ...little juicy gems! They never last long in this house....so I had to paint them quickly before they even reached the fridge! Yum...hope there is still some left for breakfast in the morning!

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Blue skies, blossoms and birds #168

Daily painting #168. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

So if you read the title of the painting before reading my blog post, you will be forgiven for thinking "Birds, what birds?" Yes, I know there are no birds in the little painting, just a quick painting sketch of a tree! This afternoon my daughter and I were sitting upstairs marveling at all the beautiful birds that visit our garden and the public gardens which borders our house. From our upstairs veranda we overlook the tree tops of this garden and yesterday we couldn't believe the amazing variety of birds that we were finding.....and I have to admit that I am no avid bird watcher....so other than the more common birds like Kingfishers and Weavers and Barbets, I was unable to identify most of them! What we also noticed was one tree in particular which stood out with its beautiful pink blossoms amid a sea of different tones of green. This beautiful tree reminds me of a Cherry Blossom tree but I know it is not! The tops of it looked so striking against the backdrop of blue sky.....so a quick little painting sketch to remind me to notice the beauty on my doorstep a bit more often!

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Rose in a silver pot #167

Daily painting #167. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

This little rose broke off close to the stem the other day when I was arranging a bunch in a vase. I placed the little rose into a little silver pot and popped it onto the kitchen counter....it has lasted much longer than the rest if the bunch! It has opened up into a lovely full bloom and although the petals are just starting to fall it still looks beautiful! A little rose for your weekend....have a fantastic weekend everyone! This time next weekend I will be in Cape Town with my cousin Candice from Chicago....I just can't wait!

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Morning, with a hint of autumn #166

Daily painting #166. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, on my personal page not Paintings in the post, you would have predicted that today's painting was of the morning sky! It was so incredibly beautiful that besides painting it, I couldn't help taking a few photos on my iPhone as the light changed and the sun tried to make its way through all the rain clouds! Of course I had to share at least one photo with my friends and family! The contrast of the light and the moody rain clouds made for a beautiful treat. Even better, there was a beautiful crispness in the air, even after the sun came up! Autumn might just be teasing us, but it was fantastic to not wake up to sweltering heavy heat! Autumn in Durban is THE best ....and it might just be on its way!

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Old brush #165

Daily painting #165  pen, ink and watercolor on A5 watercolor paper

I have been busy in my studio with a couple of other projects today and only started getting set up for my daily painting later this afternoon only to discover that I had forgotten to prime some more little canvas panels! I normally prepare about 20 of them at a time and have had such a busy week that I didn't realize until yesterday that I needed to prime more canvases.....and of course this morning I forgot! I like to give the little boards a couple of layers of gesso with a light sanding inbetween each dry layer so they really need a day to prepare!
So my daily painting is another little pen, ink and watercolor painting.....of the old Chinese brush I use to apply the layers of gesso. Maybe if I paint it and leave the brush sitting on my work table, it will be the first thing I see in the morning and the old brush will serve as a reminder to prepare some more little canvas panels!

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Spoon No.2 #164

Daily painting #164. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

Same spoon....different day, different weather, different time, different light.....different colored  silver spoon!

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Silver spoon #163

Daily painting #163. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

The last few days seem to have revolved around food with all the birthday celebrations! Delicious lunches, dinners, cakes, puddings.....oh my....too much delicious food....time to slow down! How very lucky we are and how grateful I am for special family times like these!

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Dad #162

Daily painting #162. 8"x10" oil on primed canvas panel  NFS

I have to admit to starting to draw this painting up last night while my husband was at a rugby match. It is slightly larger than my normal daily painting and I have had to try work on it without him seeing,  so I completed the painting today and will be giving it to him tomorrow with all his other birthday presents! By the time this post goes live in the morning it will be Andrew's 50th birthday!

"Dad" is a painting of my father-in-law, Peter Shedlock. Andrew's Dad passed away last year and I know that not a day goes by when he doesn't miss him. As he raises his bat to celebrate his 50 tomorrow, I know his Dad would have been so very proud. Proud of the gentleman he is and proud of the loving and devoted husband and father that he is to us.
So..."Happy Birthday" and blessings for the year ahead....all our love and wishes Heidi, Ross and Amy xxx

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An apple a day...#161

Daily painting #161. 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.....if only it was that simple! Thank goodness I am not feeling like I was last weekend when all I wanted to do was climb on the bed and sleep off a nasty head cold. This weekend has been just too busy for that! It is my husbands 50th birthday on Monday and we have family coming over on Sunday for lunch....so lots of cooking! This morning I spent what felt like ages trying to shop for a gift for him with the children. Andrew is an impossible person to buy gifts for...he wants nothing and needs little! Anyway we succeeded in spoiling him and are slowly getting organized for Sundays bash, but I can't say I have had much time to paint this weekend! Although I do have a little surprise for him which I started last night and will finish tomorrow as my daily painting....I had to make a start on it while he was at the Sharks rugby game as I don't want him to see the surprise....a sneaky little painting...you too will have to wait for tomorrow.....

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Fresh asparagus #160

Daily painting #160. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

It has been so unbearably hot and humid today that I have actually felt ill! There is just no escape from the heat and your body feels constantly sticky, your clothes and hair plastered to your body! Summer be gone with you now....after today I am longing for our beautiful April weather! There was absolutely no way I was cooking tonight, I actually didn't even feel like eating! So it was cold salads and some crisp fresh asparagus......

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Load shedding protea #159

Daily painting #159. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

Today while I was teaching our electricity suddenly cut off! A while later I realized that we were experiencing load shedding. A simple explanation for this is simply our electricity provider, Eskom cuts power supply to certain areas for up to 2hours (often more) when our power supplies in the country are running low! I know to viewers overseas reading this, this must sound crazy....but hey, we live in Africa...where anything is possible! Foolishly I thought because we had experienced load shedding in the morning, we would not be affected in the afternoon....HA! Yes did I say that in Africa anything is possible......! Well in the late afternoon just as I was getting settled in my studio with a beautiful protea on the shelf....the power cut again! My studio was quite dark and the natural light faded too fast. So my protea was a bit of a blind painting but I had to push through quickly as darkness was fast approaching and rechargeable lights and candles (which is what we resort to) give off awful color in the light they produce. So thanks Eskom....my Protea didn't quite end up as anticipated but you certainly pushed painting in the dark as a new experience! Oh and by the way.....please can we have electricity today!

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A lemon and a grape #158

Daily painting #158. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

I never wake up knowing what I am going to paint for my daily painting! At some point in the day something will come to me...inspire me...catch my attention...scream out at me...or find its way into my studio as if it was just meant to be there for me to paint! But not today! None of the above! Maybe I was too busy or distracted today but by late afternoon I stood in the kitchen with my children and loudly exclaimed that I had no idea what I was going to paint for my daily painting! My children looked at me with way more panic on their faces than I was feeling, they couldn't believe I had not made it into my studio today and so began to rattle off a number of things they thought were appropriate and might 'save the day'. Bless them but most of the suggestions had no appeal at all until of cause, out of sheer desperation they grabbed two things in front of them...a lemon and a grape (of all things). The suggestion seemed absurd and the combination of the two so weird that of course I just had to paint ...a lemon and a grape! We had a good giggle at how bizarre we are....and I wouldn't blame you for thinking we were a crazy bunch! So after much laughter and craziness the strange combination of a lemon and a grape (a bunch would be way more appropriate) will remind me of good times and laughter!

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Moody day and rain #157

Daily painting #157. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

We woke up to moody skies and a drizzle of rain today...what a welcome relief from the heat we have been having! The drizzle eventually stopped and the humidity levels were still quite high but the sky over the sea remained moody and threatening rain all day! Of course the rain eventually came in the evening and murphies law it was my daughters school swimming gala!!!! The gala continued in the rain....see all the umbrellas in the photo below....fine for the swimmers who were wet anyway...but not so nice for us poor parents watching! Anyway at least I had beautiful views of the Durban skyline  to distract me when my daughter wasn't swimming! So beautiful I had to share with you....

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Raw almonds #156

Daily painting #156. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

I was such a glutton today! I bought a bag of raw almonds...we eat a lot of them, in yoghurt, for school lunch boxes, or just a handful to snack on. They are supposed to be so good for you! The almonds I bought today were just so fresh....I ate way more than a handful! I couldn't stop eating them....I don't want to see any more almonds now....serves me right!

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A little posy in a jar #155

Daily painting #155  5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

I am not quite feeling myself today....I have a bit of a head cold and an aching body. My son is learning for exams and my daughter is catching up on school projects! Not quite a fun filled day ....so a cheerful little posy of roses to brighten up the day!

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Iced Zoo biscuits #154

Daily painting #154. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

Good old Iced Zoo biscuits! I don't buy these often for my kids, but when I do they really make me feel quite nostalgic! I can remember as a kid eating the little white iced animals off the top of the biscuits...and everyone always fought over the blue ones! Anyway....today my daughter Amy had a friend to play and my poor son Ross was learning for exams, so some fun Iced Zoo biscuits were a nice tea time treat!

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