Daily painting 730 Spring bloom and a bud

Daily painting #730 6"x6" oil on primed panel (unframed)

It is the first day of Spring in the Southern Hemisphere. A day of flowers, new beginnings and budding gardens. It also means the start of the humidity in Durban and quite frankly the weather in Durban this week seems to have been confused...it's like we missed Spring and hit Summer all in one week! 

For a floral loving artist, today is wonderful. I get to have a good excuse (not that I ever need one) to full my world (both online and offline) with a whole lot of pretty!

HAPPY SPRING....(or maybe happy Fall depending on where you live)...hope YOUR day too, is full of a whole lot of 'beautiful'!

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Daily painting #729 Spring figs

Daily painting #729 6"x8" oil on primed panel (unframed)

August is almost over (this year is flying by) and I can feel Spring in the air. It is a wonderful feeling. The mornings are getting lighter earlier and we are waking to birds chirping and the sun starting to show itself over the ocean. There is a faint hint of Durban humidity in the air, warning us that Summer is coming. But best of all the evenings are getting warmer and longer and nothing beats sitting outside with a crisp, chilled white wine or a glass of chilled rosé on a warm summers evening. Figs, cheese and my homemade marinated olives are the perfect marriage with the wine, summer breeze and warm evenings. That and wonderful company of course!

It's almost Summer....

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Daily painting #728 King protea

Daily painting #728 6"x8" oil on primed panel (unframed)

The King Protea seems an incongruous name for a flower so beautiful and feminine. But as bold and brave as kings us woman can be, so why not I suppose. The King Protea is one of the larger protea specimens and its soft grey blue and pink tones always appeal to me! It is bold, yet soft and gentle...inspiring characteristics. Speaking (or writing that would be) of inspiring....

HUGE thank you to everyone who joined in the creative sharing on Paintings in the post Facebook page yesterday! To inspire someone else to do something is the greatest of compliments....so thank YOU for all your inspiration!💛BIG love! If you wanted to join in the fun but never got around to it, I hope you will join in next time we do a #DoSomethingCreativeToday share. It's a great way to connect with others and hold yourself accountable for doing something a little more creative...besides its good for the soul and the world needs more creative thinkers! To share is a wonderful thing...
I randomly (names out a hat style) selected HILDA NIEMAN to receive a little painting as a way of saying 'Thank you' for sharing with us all yesterday. This little painting will be heading off in the post to Hilda....

I wish I could send each one of you a painting to say thank you! We had our first kitchen 'foodie' inspiration share and I am still waiting for our first writer to share something they have been up to....(hint hint if you are a writer)...and we are yet to have a garden share....(hint hint).
Lovely to meet so many of you yesterday....and do stay in touch!

Much love (and creative energy of course) 💛Heidi

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#DoSomethingCreativeToday

It's time to do some creative sharing today! If you have been up to something creative today at home, at the office, in the garden, kitchen, studio....wherever, head on over to my Facebook page here and tell us about it. It doesn't have to be something art related....it can even be a creative decision you have made! Let's inspire one another to be a little more creative, to change things up a bit and even try something you have never done before! By sharing with one another we might just inspire someone else to try be a little more creative too!

Today I will be giving away one little painting to someone who shares what they have been up to. You can share on my Paintings in the post Facebook page or you can share in the comments below if you would prefer. The recipient will be drawn randomly and announced tomorrow afternoon (Friday) both here on the blog and on the Facebook page.

I look forward to seeing what YOU have all been up to for a change.

Sending lots of creative energy your way... Heidi

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Daily painting 727 Fresh

Daily painting #727 6"x8" oil on primed panel

It is so incredibly difficult to photograph a painting with a dark background in the correct light to ensure true colours and not get a slight reflection on the dark background. I have taken millions of photos of this painting and if there isn't a reflection then the strawberries are the wrong colour and if the colour is correct then there is a slight reflection....grrrrr!!! I don't like to use photo editing on the images unless it is to tweak exposure as I always try to aim for an image that is as close to the original. On days like today taking an image of the painting can take me longer than painting the painting...CRAZY!!! 

Tomorrow I will be doing another #DoSomethingCreativeToday share. This is where YOU get to share something creative you have been up to and hopefully inspire someone else to do something a little more creative too. So please join in the fun! I will be giving away a little painting to someone who shares on my Facebook page something creative they have been up to (it can be a creative decision...doesn't have to be art related). The recipient will be drawn randomly and will be announced on Friday afternoon to give overseas friends a chance to join in. If you would like to participate make sure you have liked my Facebook page here so that you don't miss out on the fun. It is so inspiring to read what others have been up to and you never know.... someone's share might just inspire you to try something you have never done before! 

See you tomorrow for some creative sharing....

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Daily painting #726 Umzumbe sea

Daily painting #726 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

We are home from our wonderful weekend away. This was painted just before we left...the sunshine had finally made an appearance and we got to spend some time swimming, walking on the beach and around the pool. I love little weekend family get-aways that force you to take things slowly for a bit and even switch off for a while. I have come home feeling as refreshed as if I had enjoyed a week long vacation! Time to head on back to my studio with renewed energy...but not before I do a grocery shop (yuck yuck yuck!)....can I just return to this beach for a little longer please?

Have a fabulous week...see you soon with more little paintings (after I find some delicious fresh produce in the shops to paint...oh and to eat of course).

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Daily painting #725 Pumula skies

Daily painting #725 4"x6" oil on primed panel

We have had rain, thunderstorms and sunshine and blue skies all in one weekend. But most importantly we have had rest, relaxation and fabulous quality family time, which I am always grateful for. I have shared a couple of little videos on my Paintings in the post Facebook page which you can view here. I had the best little studio companion yesterday and the best studio ever...the outdoors! 

My beautiful painting partner for the morning...my daughter Amy.

This painting is really little, it is 4 inches by 6 inches. This makes it really difficult to photograph and crop it without getting some distortion. Especially with a sky, which often looks quite abstracted when something so small has been cropped. So I took another image with one of my brushes which puts it into better perspective.

Right...painting loaded...enough chatting...I am off to the beach now to join my family and enjoy the last few hours of this beautiful place! I have shared the beach and a few more images on Instagram's new 'stories' post if you follow along there too. If not and you want a peek find me heidishedlock here.

Off to the beach now...cheers from Pumula x

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