Friday rose #675

Daily painting #675 8"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

Apologies for the flood of roses coming out of my studio this week....it seems to have been a rosey kind of week....

Have a fabulous weekend! 

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Yellow unfolding #674

Daily painting #674 6"x6" ink and acrylic on primed panel

I returned to my studio this morning to find beautiful bright yellow petals that had gently unfolded from the tight bud. If this garden rose opens up fully it is going to be like a beautiful ball of summer sunshine! 

Thank you so much to Retta who wrote to me yesterday to tell me that the colour yellow is considered the most beautiful and prestigious of colours in Asian culture. It's glorious, golden, vibrant and I can't believe it has taken so long to win me over! 

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Yellow #673

Daily painting #673 6"x6" ink and acrylic on primed canvas panel

I have never been a huge fan of yellow, be it in my home or in the clothes I wear. But lately I can't seem to get enough of little pops of canary yellow. Yellow roses, a dash of yellow paint, a cushion with a flash of yellow and I have even found some beautiful big yellow beads for around my neck! It's all about yellow....makes a change from pink...or maybe not!

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Nectarines #672

Daily painting #672 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

I took a few days break from my studio to enjoy some family time and to enjoy having my husband home again after 4 weeks away. 

Yesterday I did a painting demonstration for the Mind Moves group. It is always wonderful to meet new people and to share my painting journey in the hopes that I can inspire others to create and explore. So thanks for inviting me....

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MCL Cricket ball #671

Daily painting #671 6"x8" oil on primed panel 

My husband arrived home last night after being away in Dubai to coach the Gemini Arabians in the Masters Champions League. The team won the final undefeated throughout the tournament. It was an amazing feeling watching the team celebrate the victory on television and we SO wished we could have been there to soak up the festive atmosphere, no one more so than my son who loves the game almost as much as his father!

When my husband arrived home last night he started pulling signed team shirts out of his bag for my son, who by this stage was almost hyperventilating with excitement. Along with the shirts, a cricket ball came rolling out of his practice bag ...at which point my son reached for it like he had just discovered Captain Cooks hidden treasure! He held it gently in his hands, looked at it in awe and said...."Mom some of the best cricketers in the world have probably hit or touched this ball!" My husband's team had players like Sehwag, Sangakkara and Muralitharan playing in it...icons of world cricket! The thought that they may have used that particular ball at practice was enough to make a cricket loving boy weak at the knees!

 We are so happy the Gemini Arabians won but it's even better to have Dad home again!

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Valentines #670

Daily painting #670 6"x6" ink and acrylic on primed panel 

Whether you celebrate the tradition of Valentines Day or not,  take time out today to shower the ones you love with your time and attention. Tell them how much you love them and enjoy the best gift of all, time together! 

I have the best Valentines Day gift ever...my husband is flying home from Dubai after 4 weeks of being away! His team celebrated an unbeaten win in the Masters (cricket) Champions League inaugural tournament. I couldn't be happier for him....and I can't wait for his plane to hit the Durban runway! My husband and best friend is almost home!

 A special friend also lost her Dad, "Pops" in the early hours of this morning and while I know she is heartbroken today, I pray that her heart with be full of love and beautiful memories and that Valentines Day will forever remind her not of what she lost, but of all the beautiful things she gained from having loved and been loved by someone so special! Loving someone with all your heart really is the most beautiful gift you can give them!

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Inky protea 3 #669

Daily painting #669 ink and acrylic on primed panel

This bunch of proteas has lasted a whole week in my studio (despite the heat)....what a treat! 

My husband's team has made it through to the finals in the Masters Cricket League Championship and they play for the trophy on Saturday evening. He arrives home on Sunday after a long time away! 

I have a feeling it's going to be a fantastic weekend ...hope yours is too! 

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Inky protea 2 #668

Daily painting #668 6"x6" ink and acrylic on primed panel

I didn't really enjoy painting yesterday's protea and felt a little awkward and fiddled around too much with the ink and paint....so of course I had to have a try at another one today. 

Last week I spoke about how daily painting is just a small part of what I do in my studio, so today I thought I would share a much larger work (daily paintings are postcard size) that I started in my studio yesterday. It is still not complete and I am not quite sure which direction it is going in. Some more exploring will happen today....so exciting! So although it is incomplete, I thought I would share it with you....

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Inky protea #667

Daily painting #667 6"x6" ink and acrylic on primed panel 

The proteas in my studio are still beautiful ....I had to try inks and acrylics! I am not sure how I feel about the outcome.....

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Monday protea #666

Daily painting #666 8"x8. Oil on primed canvas panel

I must have had a sixth sense that time to paint was going to be impossible this weekend! My husband is still in Dubai coaching in the Masters Cricket League and my kids had a busy weekend....to top it off my daughter ended up sick and it has just been one of those weekends when Monday actually couldn't come fast enough (I don't say that often!). On the up side though, my husband's team has made it through to the semi-finals and hopefully he will return next week with his team holding the trophy! The proteas that I bought to paint have also lasted as the weather cooled down a little over the weekend...another definite plus! So really Monday morning is not feeling too bad after all. I hope you all have a fabulous week!

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Weekend protea #665

Daily painting #665 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

I have some beautiful fresh proteas in my studio! Now I just need some uninterrupted time in my studio this weekend to paint them before they dry out! With two busy children and a husband who is still away, I am not taking any bets on my chances but will have to steal a few moments here and there....but at least it's the weekend!

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Gentle storm #664

Daily painting #664 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

Last night we had a gentle storm and some much needed relief from the extreme heat of the day. With it came some desperately needed rain, an absolute delight to the senses of sight, smell and hearing!

I had to wake up really early this morning, my son had pre-season hockey training at school and I had to prepare his lunch and some breakfast for him to eat 'on the go' before classes start. So I set my alarm for 4.30 and had some quiet time before waking the 'sleepy head'. The sky was dull and grey with the slightest hint of a sun that was desperate to show itself again today. Quite frankly I will be delighted to see the end of Summer this year...roll on our beautiful Autumn and Winter months!

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Last sketchbook share #663

From my personal sketchbook

Thanks for the response to yesterday's blog post. In the hopes that I can inspire you to open up that sketchbook, I am sharing one more page from my personal sketchbook.

I am wanting to experiment with some yellow roses painted in inks and acrylics so I have been 'playing' with colours in my sketchbook. I spoke about acrylic colours a few posts back and wrote  about how artificial and bright I found them to be by comparison to working with my oils. This of course is just a personal observation and so I have been experimenting a lot in my sketchbook. When working with oils I would never just use a range of yellows if I was painting yellow...I always have at least one of each primary colour on my palette. To create the more neutral shadowed tones on the yellow rose I used yellow's complementary colour purple (essentially blue + red), but was lazy to mix my own and simply reached for an already mixed purple in my acrylic paintbox. The rose is still too bright and I am still struggling with the colours and not yet achieving the beautiful softness that I want, but I will continue to play in between finishing off a large protea painting commission. Some yellow inky/acrylic daily paintings will definitely be happening soon so watch this space...

I hope you have pulled out that sketchbook and engaging for just a few minutes (hopefully more) each day!

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Sketchbook rose #662

Shared from my personal sketchbook

I have had a lot of questions lately about my daily painting, so I thought I would answer a few of them in a blog post. Firstly daily painting is not the only painting I do. I work on private commissions and am currently exploring a much larger body of work which will hopefully result in an exhibition in the future. I do not only paint on little postcard size surfaces....as a matter of fact I LOVE a large big canvas! Surprising considering the size of the daily paintings. My daily paintings take me no longer than 45 minutes maximum and they are like little warm-up activities to get my eye tuned and my head in the right space. Imagine an athlete doing a warm-up before running the race. With my daily paintings I am less concerned about 'getting it right' and more concerned about engaging with my brush, my paint, my surface and the object I am painting. I share the images regardless of whether I feel I 'got it right' or not. It is a wonderful way to spend time with myself and my own thoughts and I often solve the worlds problems in this short time alone with my own headspace. I enjoy not having the pressure to 'get it right'. Again it can only be likened to an athlete that trains religiously everyday....over time your muscles get stronger and over time my painting evolves and ideas change and my ability to 'see' (the artists most precious skill) gets stronger too. The value of engaging daily with whatever it is that you are passionate about is immeasurable.

I get asked regularly about my sketchbooks and whether I have neglected them since I started daily painting. So today I decided to share with you a little rose study from my sketchbook. I work regularly in my sketchbook but very rarely share what I do there. They are my personal space to explore, write ideas, quotes, notes, experiments, observations and yes draw and paint as much as I can! The best advice I can give anyone is to get a sketchbook and engage daily with that book....draw, paint or even write something down that is important to you. It is often out of the subconscious thought that our best ideas evolve so engage daily ....get yourself a sketchbook and start today!

If you have any questions about my daily painting, please feel free to message me and I will try to answer or help you as best I can.... 

This sketchbook rose took just 10 minutes...10 minutes of your day is not a lot to give up to something you are passionate about!

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Basil #661

Daily painting #661 8"x8" ink and acrylic on primed panel 

I have a bunch of basil planted just outside my studio and it wasn't planted so long ago. But it has been so hot that it is already wilting and going to seed, despite me watering it daily. I guess it's time to pick all the leaves and make basil pesto...but not before I paint it!

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