Daily painting #714 Cream doughnut

Daily painting #714 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

In September last year I decided to cut sugar from my family's diet completely. I cleared the cupboards of anything containing any form of sugar. I completely changed the way we eat and my family's perceptions of 'healthy food'. As a result I haven't painted any sugary things or sweeties in ages.

I stopped at the bakery to buy this doughnut purely for the purpose of painting it. I was particular about which doughnut I wanted. I didn't want the one with hardly any coloured sprinkles (too boring) or the one that looked a bit squished (wrong shape) or the one where the cream had been bumped and messed. I carefully chose the one I wanted and asked the lady behind the counter to "package it carefully so that it didn't get damaged before I  could paint it"! I wondered why she looked at me a little strangely and when she asked if I liked doughnuts, I answered without thinking that "I don't eat sugar but I look forward to painting it". She looked even more confused and although I saw her mumbling something under her breath to another cashier, I still didn't think too much about what I had said, until I walked off doughnut in hand and a scathing teenage son at my side who vowed never to come to the bakery with me again because I was so embarrassing! He thinks I will be known as the strange lady who doesn't eat sugar but buys 'the perfect doughnut' with the pretense of painting it...apparently the lady's expression had "Yeah RIGHT!" written all over it. Either that or she was thinking I was going to put paint on the actual doughnut which seems even more absurd and probably explains her strange expression. The lady was a Zulu speaking lady and so with English as her second language I can understand how my explanation might have seemed odd. As for the son....well I think he was just grumpy that he didn't get to eat the darn doughnut (he quickly got over that)...this giving up sugar thing is hard...but oh so worth it!

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Daily painting #713 Friday pink

Daily painting #713 8"x8" oil on primed panel

Thank you to everyone who joined in the creative sharing on my Facebook page yesterday. It is wonderful to see the variety of creative engagements, and even more fun to share and hopefully inspire others to engage in a more creative way. We will do it again, so if you didn't get around to sharing something creative you do....next time it's your turn...and I look forward to seeing!

I have had a bunch of beautiful big proteas in my studio that I am painting for a client so here is just one of them....to share with you!

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#DoSomethingCreativeToday

Paintings in the post has taught me the value of daily creative engagement and I can't emphasize the value enough. Last week I wrote about engaging in a creative and meaningful way on a daily basis with something that fills your 'soul tank'. You can read about it here. 

I encouraged others to share something creative that they had done during the day (in the office, in your garden, in your home, in a sketchbook, in your kitchen...wherever) and it was a wonderful way for me to connect with you and get to know some of you a little better! 

The sharing happened mainly on my Paintings in the post Facebook page, but this week I want to hear from more of you! Lets inspire one another and be a little MORE creative. Why not... it's good for you! So PLEASE tell me something creative you have done today (it need not be something BIG...just a little creative decision) and you can share it here on the blog (click comment below) or head on over to my Facebook page (here) and share...

I look forward to meeting you...let's share this creative thing and inspire one another!

Much creative love and creative sharing... Heidi

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Daily painting #712 - On a dish

Daily painting #712 8"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

The winter holidays have come to an end all too soon! My children are back at school and the only positive is that I get to hide out in my studio with absolute silence and work uninterrupted. I'm enjoying the silence so much I didn't even play any music in my studio yesterday....the silence was golden! So it's back to being more focused on all the things I love to do and count down the days until the next holidays when we get to indulge in more special family time again. Either way I am happy to say its a win/win situation. I love holidays and family time and I love that I get to paint/create/teach/share all my passions and basically call all the things I enjoy doing the most, work!

The little bright kumquats are yet to be turned into (sugar-free) marmalade (still on my 'To Do' list) so I get to enjoy them in my studio for a little longer. I loved painting them again. The one thing that has been ticked off the list is editing and sorting through my millions of photos from our recent trip to the bush. It is one of those tasks that if I don't do it immediately, the pics will sit on my computer for the rest of the busy term. So today I share with you just a few because I can't help but want to share with you just how beautiful South Africa is. It was so hard choosing just a few and I can't say I looked for 'the best' images because quite frankly I wanted to share them all. The beauty, the animals, the wilderness....oh gosh I could just go on and on! Am I sounding #proudlySouthAfrican? Well we so often have bad press and the crime rate is crazy, our government as corrupt as they come and too many of my friends choose to not live here any longer....and I understand why. But....there is a little piece of my heart that will always be African and I can't help but want to share that!

From South Africa with love...

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Camellia bud #711

Daily painting #711 5"x5" oil on primed canvas panel

Those of you who follow me on social media platforms like Instagram (you can find me here) or on my Facebook page under Paintings in the post, might recognize this bud from an image I shared yesterday. I made a little image encouraging others to do something creative and to recognize the beauty around you. I photographed the bud along with some old paint tubes and then processed the image in an app to add the writing. This is the image I shared...

Some folks shared their creative projects on my Facebook page and it was wonderful to see! The old saying goes that the wolf you feed is the one that will return, so feed your creativity daily! Think in a creative and engaging way about something at least once a day (when you dress, at work, in your home, in your kitchen or garden or even in your studio). I love the fact that we are able to cyber-share in all our creative endeavors and hopefully in turn inspire others to be more creative too. I love to paint, draw, cook, spend time with my camera and a whole host of other creative endeavors that really do add a richness to my life. Engaging creatively in a daily practice is a wonderful habit and I hope you try it too! 

I definitely plan on encouraging others to inspire and share their creative endeavors again and my Facebook page is the perfect platform for sharing so if you want to join in next time, be sure to like my page Paintings in the post  on Facebook, watch out for the prompt and join in the creative fun!

This little painting was my daily creative ritual!

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Kumquats #710

Daily painting #710 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with kumquats, they are a little citrus fruit. They are oval in shape and just bigger than a large olive. They are used mainly for cooking and I have only ever used them to make a jam (preserve) or marmalade but they can be used in puddings or cakes too. I have adapted a strawberry jam recipe of mine to a sugar free version. It is nowhere near as sweet as the original but that is just fine because our taste buds have adapted and we don't need such sweetness any more. The natural sweetness from the fruit is enough. The preserve  is delicious to mix through Greek yoghurt. When I found these at our local market I thought I would try to make a sugar free marmalade, it might give the yoghurt a lovely citrus flavour. I am always looking for interesting things to give my children as snacks and store bought flavoured yoghurts are definitely out of the question and this way I get to make the yoghurt more interesting for snacks and breakfast. Let's hope it works and the citrus is not too bitter!

I am sure you will agree that these are the most glorious rich colour and so before I experiment in the kitchen with them they had to visit my studio first! Painting yellow and orange tones with such a dark rich background was challenging. Yellows easily get dirty and loose the vibrancy and I was using a purple (complementary colour to yellow) to tone the shadows. The kumquats were quite a challenge in the studio, I hope they prove to be kinder in the kitchen!

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Fresh Red #709

Daily painting #709 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

Yesterday was spent grocery shopping, cooking and getting organized again. As many of you know, last year we gave up eating all sugar (including all those nasties hidden in the food we 'think' is healthy) and so it is important to be organized. A little planning and preparation goes a long way to keeping us on the track of eating real whole food. So my kitchen is organized again, my fridge full of goodness, my house is bright with fresh flowers (my one indulgence) and finally I am able to squeeze fresh paint onto my palette too! I am working on a large floral painting in ink and acrylic but first a quick little protea daily painting to get me in the mood! When I keep everything around me well organized it helps to keep my creative (often disorganized) brain on track. Being organized is so much harder for me (no OCD here HA), but I know it's crucial to the process that comes from creative chaos. Organized chaos is good for me!

Have a wonderful day...

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