Umzumbe beach #98

Daily painting #98. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

Sun...beach...delicious food....lazy afternoons....heaven on earth!!! Family holidays are my best! And just to top it off I am 2 days away from painting 100 little paintings in 100 days....WOW! I can't believe it! 

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Pumula - A room with a view #97

Daily painting # 97. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

Pumula Beach Hotel which is down the south coast from Durban, in South Africa, is one of our favourite summer holiday spots and we have been coming here every year (sometimes more than once  a year) since before Andrew and I were even married....our children have grown up here! It is nestled along a secluded beach called Umzumbe beach and the word 'Pumula' is a *Zulu word meaning 'to rest'.

 Every January we stay in the same room....No. 48. It has without a doubt the best view of the coastline and after settling in, enjoying a leisurely lunch and soaking up the sheer joy of being back at a place we call 'home away from home', I finally made it onto the verandah of No.48 to paint the late afternoon view. The heat had subsided and there was a cool breeze. The brightness earlier in the day which made both sea and sky look cerulean and cobalt, had softened into more gentle and subtle tones ....and I was feeling relaxed and content...who wouldn't staring out over the Indian Ocean at this view....

*Zulu is one of our official languages in South Africa but is native to KwaZulu Natal, a province situated along the east coast of South Africa.....the province in which I live.

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Birthday cupcake #96

Daily painting #96.  6"x6". Oil on primed canvas panel

When this post goes live on the blog...it will be early morning in South Africa but not quite the 3 January yet in Chicago. So it may be a little early to say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to Candice in Chicago for the 3 January! Candice is the closest I will ever get to having a sister, we are actually cousins but both only children and grew up very close! It is also thanks to Candice that I now share my daily painting with you all! We have been quite a team working together to set Paintings in the post up between 2 continents and time zones! So while I sadly am not there to celebrate with you....I am there in spirit....we enjoyed a little Red Velvet cupcake from our local bakery on your behalf (after it had been painted)....so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you....from all of us here in South Africa!

Only 4 more days to reach 100 paintings in 100 days!! Please share my posts with friends and encourage others to visit....help me celebrate reaching 100 paintings in 100 days ....I would love to share my story with others and hopefully inspire some....

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Mustard #95

Daily painting #95. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel. SOLD

New Year's Day is always spent having lunch at Granny's house (my Mum).....the last feast of the festive season! Families are always drawn together over food....and every celebration in every religion is celebrated in some way over the sharing of food....traditional meals....family favourites! In our family we have so many meals and favourites that have evolved into our own versions of traditional recipes. Yesterday my mum asked me to bring the mustard sauce....

The mustard sauce is one of those elusive recipes from my mother in law....she has shared the ingredients but is always vague about the actual recipe so I have developed my own version of it....same ingredients ....probably different measurements ....but it tastes just as good! 

So while the sauce was simmering, I got my 2014 daily painting off to a start....

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New Year #94

Daily painting #94 6"x6" oil painting on primed canvas board. SOLD

2013 saw me start a project I never dreamed possible...I have written in the Daily Painting page on this blog about the struggles and roller coaster ride of completing a painting daily. I would like to share this with you ...

An artist's lament

Torment of the blank page. Passionless, dull, average, mediocre, or cliche, overdone, too much, over thought, overcrowded

Torment of commonplace, usual, everyday, ordinary, mundane, or boring, overcooked, overblown, too busy, excessive

Torment of the insincere, unfelt, artificial, hypocritical, or talent-less, pedestrian, lazy, formulaic, shallow

Torment of the run of the mill, dishonest, unmoved, insipid, or rushed, sleeplessness, sloth, attempt, failure, excess, disappointment

Torment of challenging nature, never perfection

But the torment of never trying, the greatest torment of all

-Edith Dora Rey

We are naturally so self critical and so many opportunities can pass us by because we never had the courage to simply try....everything begins with a decision to try! So my New Year wish for you is that you find the courage, whatever your passion, to try something you never thought possible...you just never know....  Looking forward to an exciting year ....only 6 more days to go to 100 little daily paintings....I NEVER thought that was possible! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 (Poem taken from colour, obsession, joy and torment www.dailypainters.com)

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In the garden #93

Daily painting #93. 5"x7" oil painting on primed canvas board. SOLD

Today was a day of catching up on chores around the house! We leave at the end of the week to go away on holiday and a few things needed doing! I managed to get quite a few of the chores on my 'To do...' list ticked off ....except of course the things I needed to do in the garden. It is so incredibly hot....I got as far as painting the roses and any intentions I had of feeding them or working on them were quickly forgotten in the heat of the day ...the swimming pool had far more appeal!! We have had hot but beautiful days lately and by the time I post this in the morning it will be the beginning of the last day of 2013! I would like to thank those of you who visit my page on a regular basis for all your support...2013 has been good to me and I hope it has been good to you too! If you are new to my blog and visiting for the first time....welcome...and I hope you visit again soon...in 2014! Please leave a message I would love to get to know you...

I wonder how many daily paintings 2014 holds in store for me? As you prepare to celebrate the end of 2013 and the arrival of the New Year....stay safe folks...and HAPPY NEW YEAR from Paintings in the post ....see you again in 2014!

Remember all available daily paintings can be viewed in my online shop at http://paintingsinthepost.tictail.com or click on the highlighted writing below....

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Marinated olives #92

Daily painting 92. 4"x6" oil painting on primed canvas board

I love to cook! I love shopping for delicious ingredients ...and I am one of those people who buy recipe books as a hobby and read them from cover to cover like others would a novel...and yet I rarely cook using a recipe unless of course it is to bake and specific measurements are needed! So in case you thought I was just greedy....you now know why so many of my paintings include food....food is just part of my daily creative fix whether it is in the kitchen or in my studio...I am inspired by the textures, colours, smells and tastes....
This festive season I made a HUGE jar of marinated olives ....a recipe which evolves each time I make it depending on the ingredients in my cupboard and the herbs growing in my garden! I never make a single batch ....they don't last long in this house ....but last week I made the biggest batch I have ever made in the largest glass jar I could find thinking they would last Christmas and New Year and could be used for snacks, salads, pastas and for our favourite type of lunch which my kids call 'pick and choose' where a variety of breads, cheeses, olives, left overs, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado etc etc etc is placed on the table and everyone makes their own meal depending on what they choose...

Well yesterday I went to place whatever I could find on the table for 'pick and choose' and discovered 4 little olives at the bottom of this huge jar!!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes....my family have been dipping into the jar ...eating the olives like candy! So much for thinking they would last out the festive season! I guess next time I will have to make 2 HUGE jars of marinated olives!

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