Invader #331

Daily painting #331. 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

This little plant is creeping through the fence where our property borders with the public gardens alongside our house. I am sure this little invader is actually a weed of some sorts but it too is thriving after the rain we had and is about to burst into what looks like a flower.....I actually feel guilty about pulling it out but Patrick, an old Zulu man who works for us and lives on our property is determined that it has to go!
Patrick has worked and lived with us for 12 years, my children call him "Mkulu" which means grandfather in Zulu. Patrick supports his entire family of grandchildren as his own children have all passed away. His grandchildren visit from time to time but they are away at school for most of the year and so he prefers to stay with us. He is like a member of our family and in actual fact he does so much around the house I don't know how we would survive without him! And so if Patrick says the little plant has to go....it will go.
 Sad that I won't get to see what these strange little flowers will look like when they open .... Even if it is only a weed.

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World's view #330

Daily painting #330. 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

My son played in a hockey festival this weekend in Pietermaritzburg and so today we all went up as family to spend the day there. Pietermaritzburg is about an hour inland from Durban. The boys had a morning game and then only played again late afternoon so it gave us some time to head off up the hills and do some exploring as well as finding a quaint little eatery for lunch in the little village of Hilton. Hilton is a short 15-20 minute trip up the hill from Pietermaritzburg and we decided on our way back down to travel along the single lane old road and not the main highway. Just off of this road still at the top of the hill is a little viewing site called "World's View" ....it marks the route travelled by the Voortrekker settlers into KwaZulu Natal as they descended from the Drakensberg mountains down towards the coast and eventually to Durban. The view from this spot is simply breathtaking on a clear day and so a little, quick daily painting sketch! If you would like to see some of these breathtaking views visit my Instagram page.

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Jam doughnut #329

Daily painting #329. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

Sugary, sticky, and slightly crisp with a great big dollop of glistening jewel-like sweet strawberry jam....like a giant beckoning ruby fixed in the middle.....this doughnut looked lethal! Amy (my daughter) and I had such fun browsing the bakery section at the market yesterday choosing a sugary treat to paint! It gave me license to look at all the cakes, tarts, pastries and other tempting fare that I would normally avoid with all my will power! Because I would never normally come home with something like this from the market there was great debate as to how one little doughnut was going to be fairly consumed  by the family...."why didn't you buy more mom?"

Well as luck would have it I bumped over my jar of turpentine when I was cleaning my brushes after painting and the doughnut got splattered....so no one got to eat it after all! Some things are just not meant to be eaten.....especially lethal sugary carbo-loaded (and greasy as I found out when I removed it after painting)  jam doughnuts.....even though they look so good!

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Protea #328

Daily painting #328. 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

This week it is my Mum's birthday and our wedding anniversary ....a week of celebrations! Next weekend Andrew, the kids and I are off the our favorite little place down the South Coast, Pumula Beach to celebrate our 15th anniversary. So this weekend we are getting together to celebrate my Mums birthday! Of course my house is full of flowers and I am about to pull out the recipe books to decide which yummy cake to bake for the birthday girl!

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Water #327

Daily painting #327. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

This morning we woke to the sound and smell of rain! Finally....and it was heavenly! There really is nothing quite like the smell of rain after a dry period! I could almost hear the grass groaning with relief! It didn't last for too long but as I write this blog post we are experiencing the first huge thunderstorm of the season....electric blue lightening, cracking thunder and sheets of rain pouring down in what seems like solid glass panels falling from the sky and cutting into the earth...some areas have received warnings of hail! The saying 'it never rains but it pours' comes to mind in the literal sense...

Well Spring will definitely be on its way now....the weather is warming and with a bit of rain....the plants will rejuvenate and buds will start to form. Change is on the way....amazing what a little (actually not so little at the moment) bit of water can do....

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Papaya #326

Daily painting #326 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

Papaya....tomorrow mornings breakfast! The sweet smell and taste of summer! YUM!!

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Afternoon promise of rain #325

Daily painting #325. 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

Everything is dry....the monkeys were foraging in the trees next to our house today, desperate to find food but everything is dry and food is scarce. The weather has warmed up considerably and Spring is on the way but still no rain! We had an awful hot dry wind today which usually means a change of weather on the way. Big grey clouds were looming but nothing....they were just teasing ....making us long for the rain even more as we melted in the uncomfortable dry heat. The rain is coming.....just not today unfortunately!

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