Today #596

Daily painting #596 4"x4" oil on primed canvas panel

Today the early morning light changed quickly and disappeared as the rain clouds moved in. For the second time this week we celebrate the arrival of some much needed rain for our drought stricken province. I haven't painted at all this week...I simply haven't had the courage to face a daily painting although the irony is that time spent at my paintbox is usually just the remedy I need. 

However this week has been different. As we celebrated the arrival of rain, a dear friend mourned the loss of her beautiful little boy in a tragic accident at home at the start of the week. I feel heartbroken for the family and my dear friend's loss and there simply are no words that can truly offer adequate comfort to someone who has lost a child! While we all have huge empathy and great sadness, the loss is simply incomprehensible.....

Today family and friends will celebrate Joshua's beautiful life....and give thanks for the joy he gave! 

My heart is with you today my dear, beautiful, caring friend. May God send His love and strength to cover you like the rain that is falling from our sky....

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Ripe fig #595

Daily painting #595 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

I bought a small pack of figs the other day not only to eat but also to paint! But alas....this is the last one left! They are really expensive in Durban and so they are a real treat. I love nothing better than warm honey drizzled roasted figs served with a soft sharp flavored cheese and peppery rocket leaves...pure indulgence! Try it....you won't be disappointed!

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Bouquet #594

Daily painting #594 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel 

Yesterday I shared some of the beautiful winter garden colors, but inside the house it is looking quite summery and fresh with this beautiful pink bouquet! I love nothing better than getting home from some time away and stocking up my kitchen with gorgeous fresh produce and of course some beautiful flowers. What would life be without flowers? They make me so happy... so today I share some happiness from my home to yours!
Have a day full of joy!

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Winter aloe #593

Daily painting #593 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

In South Africa many of the succulent plants flower in the winter months. They make beautiful winter gardens and range from small little ground cover plants to large tall stately aloes that grow taller than us and particularly in winter, stand out in the bush like tall orange capped soldiers. Their rich warm colour is beautiful and these winter flowering plants are one of the many things I love about winter in South Africa!

Below is a little bit of winter colour photographed in the bush while we were away.....glorious colour for winter....don't you think?

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Figs and a cherry #592

Daily painting #592 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

I was invited to demonstrate a daily painting for the North Coast Art Group. Thank you for inviting me I really enjoyed meeting some new friends! 

I always find it really hard to talk and paint at the same time. Painting for me is quite a meditative process....the world could tumble down around me and I wouldn't notice! I also get totally lost with regards to time so to try to paint, talk about what I am doing and clock watch so that I don't go over time really spins my wheels and takes me way out of my comfort zone! But I think that is a good thing to verbalize when I am demonstrating a daily painting as the reason I share what I am doing is to try to encourage people to climb out of their comfort zone and loose the fear of making mistakes. We are as humans naturally quite self critical (we shouldn't be) and so we don't like to do things that we do not feel confident doing....we are scared of failure. What daily painting has taught me amongst many other things, has been to find the courage to believe that I can do it! If for some reason I am not happy with the outcome or the painting has been a struggle then I view that as a positive rather than a negative ....we learn from our mistakes. If we are not making mistakes, we are staying in our comfort zone and not exploring enough. And I share the paintings regardless...with the world...or whoever chooses to visit my blog. I am not ashamed of my mistakes....they help shape where I am going, what I am exploring and hopefully encourage others to loose the fear of failure and find that inspiration to paint because you love it not only because you want to experience success! I have to believe everyday that I can do it...and most importantly I have to love what I am doing. Take time out to do what you love doing. We have busy and stressful lives and there never seems to be enough hours in the day so I encourage you to make the time for yourself....make the time for doing the things that you love. It's good for the soul and besides ....you deserve it!

Thank you so much ladies and gents for letting me join you for the morning.....as promised here is the picture of the little 6"x8" "Figs and a cherry".

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Paintings in the post at The Gallery in Westville

A small selection of daily paintings from Paintings in the post will be on show (and for sale) at The Gallery in Westville for the month of July. Please pop in to have a look if you are in Durban. People often comment on how different it is to see the little paintings in 'real life' as opposed to always viewing them online. It's also nice to see a selection together! 

A huge thank you to Heidi Watt from The Gallery for inviting me to show my work this month.

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art and at The Gallery in Westville for the month of July.

Hot chocolate #591

Daily painting #591 6"x6" oil on primed canvas panel

There is an awful lot of talk about chocolate at the moment, but who cares!! Not me...at least not until I got home after nearly 2 weeks away and my hips and I had a major fallout when I pulled on a pair of old jeans! Well let's not go there... so back to chocolate...again!

Yesterday I shared some early morning experiences with you so today I would like to share some early evening and sunset drive pictures. Just before sunset all vehicles are required to be out of the game reserve unless you are being accompanied by a qualified ranger. The bush is DARK at night and any light is solely dependent on the phase of the moon. All sorts of creatures that you didn't even know were there make an appearance. Navigating yourself around becomes tricky and the deathly silence which falls over the bush at night, other than the occasional shrill call of an owl, hyaena, jackal or other hunting animal is enough to send a chill down your spine if you were out there alone! So we always book a trip with a ranger to go into the park on a night drive as it is such a different experience from the day time. They use special spot lights and know just how to find the animals using the lights without scaring them or damaging their eyes with the glare of the lights. Last week we decided to book a sunset drive with a ranger rather than a night drive as it is winter and temperatures drop fast at night... it is COLD in an open game vehicle! The sunset drive would also give me some camera time at sunset before the sheet of darkness falls and envelopes you like a blanket covering you. We would have the best of both worlds, sunset and evening viewing as we would get back at 8.30pm. The night drive was only leaving at 9pm and as we got back at 8.30 pm after 4 hours of open vehicle viewing (and after leaving at 4pm with not so much as a jacket on) we were huddled under jackets, hats, scarves and blankets in an attempt to get warm. Copious amounts of hot chocolate was consumed in an attempt to heat our bodies up and I looked on with pity as the poor people going out on the night drive after us climbed into the open vehicle...they were going to freeze!

This cup of hot chocolate was obviously painted at night, can you tell why? Look at the odd hard shaped shadows that seemed to play tricks with me as I painted. The colour too seemed different every time I looked at the cup and the light quite frankly was not ideal for painting in. I always prefer to use natural light in my studio from a large studio window and avoid the hard shaped shadows that strong unnatural lights create. But with daily painting, as I always say, if I waited for the perfect light, perfect subject matter, perfect composition etc. etc. I would never paint! So I enjoyed the moment ...and temporarily forgot how cold I had been just a few hours before. But the cold was worth it and the evening magical....

Israel, a knowledgeable, interesting and passionate ranger who has taken us on many evening adventures!
His obvious love for the bush and passion for conservation of our animals is applaudable!

Apologies for the glutton of photos today but I am a hopeless decision-maker and trying to decide which photos to share with you was impossible! I wanted to show you everything, especially for those of you who have never experienced the African bush! I hope you enjoy them!

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