Tomatoes on the shelf #271

Daily painting #271. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

The house is stocked up with food for people and furry children alike! Time to pack some bags now....nothing like leaving your packing to the night before (and it's late and way past my bedtime!).

I thought I would share with you 2 paintings I will be taking to London for someone. They are the first shoes of her little twin boys who have just turned 2! These are sitting ready and waiting to be packed into my (still in the top cupboard) suitcase....

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Furry children #270

Daily painting #270 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

After saying goodbye to Ross at the airport today I started to tackle my long TO DO list again! The last few days I have been preoccupied with getting Ross all packed up and ready to leave and I haven't even given a thought to getting the rest of us packed up and ready to travel, let alone stocking the house up with food for Patrick (and grannies) who will be looking after our house and our furry babies while we are away! I only had time for a VERY quick painterly sketch in the studio today as I tried to gather paints, tidy up and prepare to pack what I need to continue daily painting while I travel! My most loyal studio companion and beautiful furry baby Noo-Noo who rarely leaves my side was a perfect model! He is a rescue baby and very precious to me! He was on deaths doorstep at 4 weeks old after being taken away from his mother (by a pet shop) too young. He was severely dehydrated, not having drunk since leaving his mother(he didn't know how to lap) and  the vet thought he would never make it. After lots of complications, 2 hourly feeds from his new Mommy (me!) and lots of TLC (he cuddled into my neck and didn't move for almost 2 weeks) ....he managed to pull through! We have a very special bond and I love him dearly! Now that I have got over my 'Mommy panic' at saying goodbye to Ross at the airport, I am now feeling 'mommy panic' at leaving my furry babies (we have another cat and 2 beautiful dogs) behind .....shew I will be glad to board the plane and start to enjoy myself....too much 'Mommy' emotion for one week!

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Last of the afternoon sun #269

Daily painting #269. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

Today was my little (actually not so little at almost 5.8ft and size 10 shoe) man's last day on African soil for the next 2 and a bit weeks! Tomorrow is full of possibility and adventure for him! He leaves with 14 other team mates on a cricket tour that these boys will remember for the rest of their lives! How very privileged they are to be going to the UK to play cricket against some amazing schools. They will also be spending some time in London together as a team....what fun they are going to have! I feel quite emotional tonight to think that this time tomorrow my 13 year old will have headed off independent of his parents and will be hovering in a plane somewhere over Africa right now. He really has grown wings and tomorrow he will truly leave the nest. Our time with our children is so precious....time so fleeting ....and I suddenly feel like where have all the years gone by? My little man is taking his first real step as an independent little being....and I wish him all the love (and BEST times) in the world! Safe travels 'little' man....you make us so proud!

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The tiny key....#268

Daily painting #268. Pen, ink and watercolor on A5 watercolor paper

After wasting time searching for the keys to our travel locks and wasting even more time today going off to buy more locks.....I came across the little tiny keys accidentally!!! Murphy's law! Well now we are not short of suitcase locks .....or little tiny keys that are easy to loose!! Almost travel time....

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Not the key! #267

Daily painting #267. Pen, ink and watercolor on A5 watercolor paper

Ross, my 13 year old son, leaves with his team for the UK on cricket tour on Wednesday. We are following on Friday once my daughters school term has come to an end. I finished my last painting class at the end of last week and now have SO much to organize! I have had classes to teach, painting commissions to finish before I leave and not to mention keeping up my daily painting and running a very busy household, so the trip has crept up on me so quickly! I have left much of the organization of this trip to the last minute! I wasted so much time yesterday trying to find the keys to our travel locks for our bags.....in South Africa I wouldn't dream of climbing on a plane without locking my bags. Of course I found every spare key (most of them I have no idea what they are for....) except the little keys I was looking for! So another thing to add to my TO DO list tomorrow is buying travel locks for the bags.....locks with no keys needed...although chances are I will probably forget the combination code....mmmmm! My head is in a spin with all there is to do....

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Last rose #266

Daily painting #266. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

This is the last rose from a beautiful bunch I bought last week. The rest of the bunch have all started loosing their petals and wilting off but this little rose may still last for a few days in a little vase. I won't be buying anymore fresh flowers for the house....we leave for the UK this week! My son leaves on Wednesday a few days before us so there is LOADS of excitement in this house at the moment!!

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Big butter avocado #265

Daily painting #265. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

Today I am 100 days away from completing 365 paintings in 365 days!! A whole year of little daily paintings.....almost!!

I love avocados ....we eat them all the time and yes I am one of those stupid people that pay crazy prices for them at times because I just can't resist!!! They are normally the much smaller hard skinned avos that we find in the shops but this week my Mum bought me some of our local grown big butter avos straight off of a tree. Many homes in Durban have large avo trees growing in their garden....sadly not mine! As can be expected straight from the tree, these avocados were delicious .....just nothing like them! They are smooth, creamy and just so full of flavor. I could eat them breakfast, lunch and supper....and now I have painted them too! 

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