Christmas pudding berries #451

Daily painting #451 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

Today has been about cooking more than painting! I do love to cook...as many of you already know! Today I did all my final preparation bits and bobs in the kitchen...all those little things that can be done ahead of time to make the Christmas feasting that much more enjoyable for the one preparing all the food (me!). As you know I am sentimental and our family loves traditions and rituals in that there is a comforting sense of nostalgia and familiarity in the little things that stay the same, especially at a time like Christmas! So the famous family Mustard sauce (for the Christmas gammon) has been made...you might remember I painted mustard last year, and the Christmas cakes, puddings and all the 'usual' family recipes have been paid homage in my kitchen today! On Christmas Eve we will have a dinner with my mum-in-law and on Christmas Day we will have the traditional Christmas family lunch so I have 2 Christmas celebrations to prepare for.....a busy time....but I wouldn't change it for the world! I feel grateful that we are able to share wonderful meals together, that we are able to spend time with family (missing those that are far away) and that these traditions and family values can be passed onto my children. It is a time of giving, sharing and family....and wherever you are and whatever your beliefs...I send you good will....we could all do with more giving, sharing, gratitude and good will....no matter the time of year! 

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

Beaded angel #450

Daily painting #450 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel 

450 days of little daily paintings!! 

My mum is so incredibly clever and creative. She does not paint or draw but she is creative in so many other ways! A couple of years ago she made some beautiful little beaded angels. They are made using soft wire and beads and the skirt is made using safety pins and beads! I love little treasure like this that hang in my Christmas tree. Each little decoration tells a story....I am sentimental I know! 

If you are no longer receiving the daily Paintings in the post email, I apologize! I (actually Candice....thank goodness for her!) have had to fix some issues with my feedburner link and in doing so I lost many of the email contacts on the subscribers list! Sorry....PLEASE subscribe again by adding your email address and clicking the grey 'submit' icon! You will then receive the daily paintings every day in your mail box....even if it is only in the modern mailbox the "Inbox"! Thanks and I hope those technological gremlins now find somewhere else to cause havoc!

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

Christmas roses #449

Daily painting #449 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

I bought some beautiful soft roses thinking they would last through Christmas but it has been so hot that they are wilting and even buds that haven't yet opened are drooping in the vase. Such a pity...but I should have known...roses in our humid summer heat do not last long! As a matter of fact I can relate...I feel a bit like those wilting roses! Today was sweltering hot and we all wallowed around in the warm swimming pool a bit like the hippos we saw in the rivers last week! I think we are going to have a very hot Christmas. So much for snowmen, snowflakes and icicles hanging on my Christmas tree...and as for Santa....he needs to loose the long pants and mittens, find some baggies (swimming trunks) and a pair of sunglasses....it's going to be Christmas in the sun!

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

Family, food and South African chocolates #448

Daily painting #448 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel 

My cousin Jason is visiting from New Zealand with his partner Tanya and his little girls. They came over today for a meal and they are leaving in the morning for Johannesburg to spend Christmas with more family. Jason and I are only 6 months apart in age and grew up really close as youngsters...our Mums are sisters. He has lived in New Zealand for many years now and it has been too long since we have seen one another! It was so brilliant to catch up with him and our children got along so well. Of course Andrew made a roaring fire and we had a good old South African braai (barbecue) with boerewors (a traditional South African sausage) and Sosaties (marinated meat on a skewer) with traditional roasted butternut, bake garlic breads, salads and of course melktart (a South African type of cinnamon custard tart). I also had a bag of chocolates called 'Favourites' which are little mini versions of some of South Africa's favourite chocolates like pepperment crisp, inside story and black cat peanut butter bars.....but I forgot to put these out! So I now have a bag of chocolates that I really don't want around, with all the holiday food and celebrations I really don't need extra chocolates tempting us all! So they found their way into my studio....not the most interesting of objects to paint and I did have my kids peering over my shoulders like scavengers waiting to pounce on the chocolates the minute I put my brush down! 

The South African rand better not continue to drop any lower (I can be hopeful!) it is not helping me get to Chicago to see Candice and now I am adding New Zealand to my bucket list too! 

This really is a time of celebration, food and of course family! Jason it was awesome to have you and your family at our table....love and safe travels! X

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

Santa decoration #447

Daily painting #447 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

I have SO many Christmas decorations and I have never left it until the last week before Christmas to put out all my decorations! But then again we don't normally go away just before Christmas....so better late than never! The house is looking really festive but I have to admit it doesn't feel like Christmas is just a few days away. Although I did get a good feel of the Christmas chaos yesterday when I took my son to meet up with some mates for a movie at one of our large shopping malls. Bad idea! I thought I would do some last minute (I always swear I will not do the last minute thing) shopping while the kids were at movies but golly gosh the combination of crowds, noise, Christmas carols and people bumping into me was enough to send my senses into overdrive and I felt like a rabbit who wanted to run and hide in the nearest hole! Can I rush off back to the quiet of the bush PLEASE?!! I am one of those people who would rather pay normal prices that fight crowds at sales and being stuck in the rush of people almost made me feel claustrophobic!  I cursed myself for doing the last minute thing yet again. But I finally have all my Christmas planning in order other than a few last minute food items that I will have to shop for on the day before Christmas. Luckily I had painted this little Santa decoration from the tree before I braved the shopping mall....I don't think I could have faced any more Christmas once I got home with sore feet, a pounding headache and a sense of humor failure not to be envious of! My mood quickly changed though when I realized my husband had a fire going (he had made a barbecue or as we call it braai) and was about to cook supper ....at that moment it felt better than any gift Santa could bring!

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

Around 4.15am #446

Daily painting #446. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel 

I need to stop having such an early start to the day! The sun seems to have no sooner disappeared and it's popping up again ....and by 3pm I am ready to crash into a deep sleep. That's fine for the holidays when putting your feet up with a good book and having a little afternoon snooze is a treat...but summer is long and I clearly need to change my body clock! These early mornings are beautiful before the heat sets in and it is my favourite time of day but when sunrise is so early in summer...an early start means a really long day!

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

Random...a match, a screw and a bee #445

Daily painting #445. 4"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

So how does a random match, screw and a dead bee land up on my canvas for my daily painting you are asking, right? Well the story is actually really lovely...yet also quite random! 

We have an elderly Zulu man that works for us and lives on our property. Patrick has worked for us since before my daughter was born and he is like a member of our family! While we were away last week, Patrick took care of everything at home...most importantly feeding my animals for me! When we arrived home I found on my easel shelf a match, a little screw and a dead bee. Being of little significance I didn't pay them much attention until this morning when Patrick asked me if I found my things on the easel? I was confused! "A painting?" I asked him. He looked at me and laughed..."Haybo Cha (Zulu for 'yikes no!!') .....all those things you paint!" Well I was still confused. "Woza (come)" he said as he beckoned for me to follow him to the studio. He bent over my easel and I watched curiously (and confused) there was nothing on my easel....until he opened up the palm of his hand and revealed the match, the screw and the dead bee! I laughed and he smiled back and said "I found them on the floor ....all the things you like to paint!" I was so touched by his thoughtfulness and by the fact that 3 seemingly useless and arbitrary objects could be valued enough for him to leave them for me to paint. As my mind shifted to thinking of how random the objects are that I often paint (and yet they hold significance to me in some often strange way), he laughed and walked out my studio saying in broken English that I paint strange things! I was left alone smiling gratefully. My way of showing thanks was to paint all 3 objects. When I thanked him and showed him the painting, he shook his head and walked off laughing ....not sure if he was approving the painting but he clearly thinks I am nuts (crazy)!!

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