Happy days #74

Daily painting #74. 5"x7" oil painting in primed canvas board

"Happy days" ....a bit of a slang way of say "having a good day" or " have a good day" or " I am feeling great"
The sun is back....and the sky is sporting a fine shade of blue...."happy days"!!! I have forgotten the last time the sky was blue and the sun was making its appearance in the morning sky. I love sitting and painting on my bedroom verandah, it looks out over the sea, but with all the rain we have had I have hardly seen the sea some days and the sky has been gloomy and dull! But today I got to go back to my favourite spot.... "Happy days" ...a quick painting sketch of some colour in the sky...at long last!
But as I write this evening, I can hear the soft patter of rain again....oh dear... Lucky we all got to soak up a little sun today! Even my animals enjoyed a bit of sun....if only for a while!

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Madiba rose #73

Daily painting #73. 6"x6" oil painting on primed canvas board.  SOLD

You would be forgiven for thinking this is pushing it too far..."she has painted a rose for Madiba on the day of his Memorial...really!!!!" However, the Madiba rose is a real actual hybrid developed by Ludwig roses here in South Africa and named after Madiba when he was our president. It is a mauve toned sweet pink, it has a deep perfume and rather unusual because the bud is a deep plum colour with yellow at the base. A flowering bush is too beautiful with all this varied rich colour. Today just seemed like an appropriate day to share it and paint one for you.....

Last night I painted until late...exhausted, I dumped what seemed like every brush in my studio into jars of turps and left them.... This morning, after watching the beginnings of Nelson Mandela's Memorial on television, I felt emotional and otherwise and didn't feel like facing up to my 'mess' in the studio! So I shoved the jars of dirty brushes aside and used the palette knife to paint today! I enjoyed moving the paint around, scratching into it and making even more mess (literally pink from head to toe) and my mood quickly lifted. So today's painting is a bit different .... But then today has been a different day, a sad day...today we said our 'goodbyes' to Madiba.....

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Milk and doughnut #72

Daily painting #72 6"x8" oil painting on primed canvas board

Doughnuts dripping in icing...treats for the kids and their friends. What was I thinking......excess energy and sugar overload induced 'high' on a rainy afternoon! That will teach me....

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Toys - Plastic Pig #71

Daily painting #71  6"x8" oil painting on primed canvas board

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art  - for a limited time, get 30% off with the promo code JINGLE.

So why a toy plastic pig you're probably wondering...right? Well ...these are 'random recordings in paint' and I guess you don't get more random than painting your children's toy farm animals!

I was having one of those 'grumpy Mommy moments' moaning about bedrooms, things that needed to be picked up and packed away and threatening to get rid of some of the toys (Please tell me you have these moments too ....?!!!) when I came across a big plastic box containing all sorts of toy creatures, animals and figurines. They were actually toys that my son played with...he loved playing with toy animals and at one stage we couldn't leave the house without him clutching one in his hand! (He is now 12 and farm animals are not quite so cool anymore!) I felt quite nostalgic digging through the box....who would think a box of toy creatures could bring back so many memories! There is something special about preserving the memory of a favorite toy....and it is not the first or probably the last time I will paint one of my children's toys!

So, as idle as those 'mad mommy moment' threats tend to be, I placed the lid on the box....threw NO toys out and painted one instead.... A random plastic toy pig!

Patriotic Protea #70

Daily painting #70  6"x6" oil painting on primed canvas board   SOLD

Still a bit patriotic today ...but on a much lighter note....

I was painting in the studio and my son was standing behind me watching! He thought it was wonderful that I was painting a Protea in support of our National Cricket team (whose official team name is the Proteas). Being cricket crazy (cricket is a popular sport here in SA) both my son and husband are off to watch the Proteas take on the Indian cricket team here at Durban's cricket stadium tomorrow! So of cause I must be painting a protea as a show of support... according to my son! Well I didn't have the heart to tell him that cricket was the furtherest thing on my mind as I sat painting and my choice of protea had something to do with shape, colour, texture and a genuine love for the flowers, rather than anything to do with patriotic support for our national team! 

That being said, hope the Proteas (as in the team) have a great game tomorrow! I think the girls will be heading off instead for some retail therapy (dreaded Christmas shopping actually) at our local mall. Don't forget to visit my new online store, use the code JINGLE and redeem 30% off the purchase of a daily painting ....if you too are in need of a little retail therapy or perhaps a little spoiling! Happy shopping ....

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Nelson Mandela - Madiba - Father of the Nation #69

Daily painting #69  8"x10" oil painting on primed canvas board. SOLD

A portrait painting in one painting session...as my daily painting! I really pushed myself today... normally I like to mull over a portrait allowing it to dry, while I study it and then work back into it glazing layers of transparent colours and slowly finding that likeness. BUT... today I was inspired! Inspired by a man who inspired our nation... and today we are a nation in mourning.

Daily painting is about capturing with immediacy an image. Technically, I make no excuses for this portrait. It evolved in its own way (larger than my regular daily paintings)...wet paint on wet paint....a tribute to the 'Father of our Nation'. On the 21 March each year we stop for a national holiday in honour of human rights. It's the day we commemorate the Sharpville Massacre where 69 people were killed. Today is daily painting #69 (no significance other than coincidence) and Madiba will forever be remembered as our nation's most iconic human rights campaigner.

This legendary man taught our nation (and the world) many lessons, the most important of which I believe is forgiveness: "No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background or his religion. People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite!" May our current leaders continue to draw on Madiba's wisdom....perhaps this will be our biggest struggle yet....

Madiba your 'long walk to freedom' is finally over....your footprints will last an eternity...RIP

Hamba Kahle....Siyabonga!

(Go well....we thank you)

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Announcement! New shop and 30% off!

I'm almost 70 days into my Daily Painting project and I have exciting news to share... I have a shiny new online shop! It's a secure way for you to buy my paintings (you can shop safely using any major credit card or Paypal) and it doubles as an online gallery for my work.  

To celebrate the new store, and thank you all for your amazing support, I'm running a little holiday sale! For the next week (7-14 December), I'm offering 30% off the price of every painting. Just enter the promo code JINGLE at checkout ... and have a very merry happy holiday season!  (PS: Feel free to share the promo code!)

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