One pound #274

Daily painting #274 pen, ink and watercolor on A5 watercolor paper

With a 20/1 rand/pound exchange rate visiting England can be quite an expensive trip if you are South African and so I had forewarned my daughter.....'No shopping!!!' But yesterday she discovered the one pound store in Putney High Street....and we walked Wimbledon Village yesterday looking for Loom bangles while the boys were playing cricket! I have forgotten how much you walk here...and how lovely it is to walk and feel safe! The weather was kind, the boys managed to finish a whole cricket game with a good win and although I was still cold (typical Durban girl) the sun did come out for a while! Gallery hopping in the morning....can't wait!

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England...cloudy with a chance of rain! #273

Daily painting #273  4" x6" oil on primed canvas panel

Sunshine one minute....pouring with rain the next! Welcome back to England! Our boys have yet to make it through an entire game of cricket without rain interfering, yesterday they didn't even get onto the field! This afternoon I was freezing cold and sat inside at a window to paint....

I don't think I have yet to feel this cold in our Durban winter. These English summers are a shock to a Durbanites system...I should have packed more 'Durban winter' clothes!

It is good to be back though....after 16 years! Heading off early to Putney tomorrow to show my family where I used to live and then off to Wimbledon to watch cricket (yes not tennis) ...weather permitting....

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Fading protea # 272

Daily painting #272. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

Late night last night and up REALLY early ....painting done! Bags packed and have bid farewell to Durban for 2 weeks....

I am sitting in the Johannesburg airport waiting for our connecting evening flight now to London. I am loading the daily painting onto the blog this evening (I normally send it through first thing in the morning) but I am not sure I will get around to logging in tomorrow morning.....so I am sitting being anti-social at the airport with my nose in my iPad ....but another daily painting is loaded! Two weeks of traveling and keeping up my daily painting is going to be interesting.....

If you would like to follow my journey visually ....follow me on Instagram at heidishedlock

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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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