Morning #324

Daily painting #324. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

While you may not care to see too many 'sky paintings', I on the other hand could paint one every day! You see these little paintings actually have nothing to do with the final image and so much more to do with the experience of starting my day like this! To take time out to reflect at the start of the day and slow the pace down a bit before the business of the day consumes me, is just the best tonic! It is like topping up my inspiration tank for the day....the richest soul food...and I do love a good soul feast!

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art
(Click on the highlighted writing to view gallery of available daily paintings and for all purchase details)

Key #323

Daily painting #323. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

I have this disastrous relationship with keys!! I either can't find the one I am looking for or I am finding way too many spare keys and I have no idea what they are for....

We are busy doing a slight alteration downstairs to a space I can use as my own personal studio (my main studio outside I use for teaching and the space I use upstairs for my own work has just become too small). It has lovely double doors which can be opened onto the garden area but I can't find the keys to this door which hasn't been opened in ages. I was sure it was the little key hanging up near the door but this house is old and we have way too many keys, doors and locks....I am hoping that perhaps given the age of the door that perhaps the key is simply not working...either way it looks like I am going to have to add fixing the lock onto the TO DO list which seems to be growing daily!

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art
(Click on the highlighted writing to view gallery of available daily paintings and for all purchase details )

Sprouting garlic #322

Daily painting #322. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

School sport in the morning, a relaxing afternoon at home, finished off with some quality family time (lots of laughs) and nice meal. A good Saturday! 

It must be getting warmer ....the garlic which was only bought this week is already sprouting in the vegetable basket! Summer is on its way....

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art
(Click on the highlighted writing to view gallery of available daily paintings and for all purchase details)

"Another one...because I feel like it!" #321

Daily painting #321. Oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

I am not normally one to rant....but today I am going to have my say! I painted ANOTHER rose (it is sitting in a single stem vase in my studio) out of sheer frustration, actually rather in response to the arrogant thoughts of some! I find it difficult to comprehend that people would criticize others because they paint flowers....or their work is 'pretty'.....! Why does everything have to have some deep academic thought ....? For starters this blog has NOTHING to do with academics or any serious conceptual response to academic discourse. It is the daily recording of something simple in paint (and yes there are ALWAYS flowers in my house) by someone who gets sheer JOY from the interaction with paint. It often has very little to do with WHAT it is I am painting and more about my responses to actually sitting down to complete a little painting every day. It is one thing to paint every day but another to complete something every day ....7 days a week ....for almost a year. I do this not for any recognition, pat on the back or accolades but more because of my own personal journey ....and I have chosen to share it in the hopes that I can encourage someone out there in some little way! It is not to say that if I was working on pieces for an exhibition that I wouldn't enjoy the more academic, thought provoking journey that one engages with when exploring a particular body of work, but that is a different approach to painting (for me anyway) with lots more exploration and I would never manage to complete a piece in one day! So if I choose to paint flowers ...'pretty' ones ...and share it on this blog...so be it and if others choose to paint roses or flowers for whatever reason....so be it! Who has the right to judge.....?

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art

For flowers... #320

Daily painting #320. 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel SOLD

I am learning to accept that I am a hunter/gatherer and a compulsive hoarder! I love hunting down things at markets, antique shops and even second hand stores! Besides the fact that I couldn't afford it, the treasures I find are never the valuable kind. In actual fact they are usually the broken, chipped, cracked and discarded but beautiful that catch my attention. Only yesterday I found 2 discarded pigeon hole cabinets the ones used for filing papers in (before the days of Dropbox and online filing systems) ....perfect for my studio! They look old, grimy,  chipped and unloved but I can't wait to give them a little tender loving care, fix them up and give them a new lease on life. I paid R50 for both cabinets (R25 each....crazy!!!!) and the person who I bought them from thought he had got a bargain getting rid of rubbish! Today I painted another little throw away from someone's expensive tea set.....a short, stout, odd shaped milk jug, tossed out because it was chipped, old and not quite so beautiful for the tea table any longer. Well now it sits on my studio shelf and is just perfect for a handful of flowers ....or to paint.... Or simply sit on my shelf feeling beautiful!

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art
(Click on the highlighted writing to view gallery of available daily paintings and all purchase details)

Quick morning study #319

Daily painting #319. 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

Today has been one of those crazy, manic, hectic, rush...rush...rush kind of days! You know those days...we all have them! I woke up just knowing that finding time to paint or even get into my own studio was going to be tough! I taught a painting class this morning, had a meeting straight after and then a million things to do in the afternoon after which I knew I would only stumble through the door after 6.30pm with my children and still have to face cooking supper! So one thing daily painting has taught me is discipline .... I got home from dropping Ross at school and went straight to the cloudy view from my bedroom window over the green tree tops of the public gardens next to our home and I painted quickly ...without too much thought ...for the short 20 minutes I had before getting ready for class. So this is the result....a quick study in paint! It is not a masterpiece but I share it anyway with pride that I did it at all! Another reminder to me that just when you think you can't do something, if you set your mind to it and make a decision to try ....it's a step in the right direction! All those things I thought I wasn't going to have enough time for today ....well they all got done...and I survived. The only family member who didn't seem to cope with the day and adopted the attitude of 'wake me up when this is over' was my cat Shelly who tucked her face under her back legs, hid from the world and had a hard day sleeping!

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art

Pink #318

Daily painting #318. Stretched canvas

I know....there have been a lot of 'pretty pinks' on the blog lately but my house has been full of flowers and because I am one of those flowery types of girls (florals are my best....even in my clothes!!!) I just can't help but want to share them with you! I hope I am not chasing away any male followers with all the 'pretty'  but I think I feel a little spring in the air! No more pretty for a few days...I promise!
This daily painting will be for sale at the annual Montpelier fundraiser(along with a couple of other larger paintings) but if you are interested in purchasing it and are not able to make the fundraising exhibition please message me privately heidishedlock@gmail.com . Montpelier is a local Durban school which holds an annual fundraising exhibition and local artists are asked to participate in the event. I have supported them for a couple of years now and the next event is coming up in September.

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art
(Click on the highlighted writing to view gallery of available daily paintings)