"Spring onions #85"

Daily painting #85. 6"x8" oil painting on primed canvas board 

A delicious breakfast with my husband and children, a shop at the market (which included these spring onions), a long lazy lunch with family, good food and wine, swimming in the pool, beautiful weather.....I love the holidays!!! 

I also love the children's excitement at this time of year...Christmas is truly a magical time for them and they are counting the sleeps! I hope you too are finding some time to relax and not still falling in the trap of Christmas chaos and last minute shopping! If you feel like all you have done is shop around for the perfect gift for those close to you and feel like spoiling YOURSELF for a change....visit my online shop and give yourself the gift of a little painting! A painting lasts forever and is the perfect gift.... It gives you endless pleasure! You can visit the shop in many ways...click on "visit my shop" the rainbow coloured button on the left of the page or click on the link "Heidi Shedlock Fine Art" highlighted below or visit www.paintingsinthepost.tictail.com 

My online shopping site is a safe secure shopping option and if you live in South Africa you can always contact me directly at heidishedlock@gmail.com

With only 2 days to go, I hope you are starting to feel the "Christmas love"! I know I feel so blessed to spend this time with my family as, for too many, Christmas is sometimes a difficult time! I know I am counting my blessings!

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View on a Summers day #84

Daily painting #84. 4"x6" oil painting on primed canvas board

Yesterday our Durban weather came back to give us a slap on the wrists for moaning about all the rain we have had! It punished us with high humidity levels and a real 'stinker of a day' ( a slang way of saying it was just too HOT!). My children spent the day in the pool lathered in sun block lotion from head to toe! There was no way I was tucking myself up inside my studio to paint a still life!

So....I settled on my upstairs verandah! I could watch the children in the pool below and I had the most beautiful view over the tree tops and out to sea where a little ship was balancing on the horizon. It was so hot the light had a hazy, blurred effect and quite frankly I was forced, more than ever, to simply and quickly record in paint....the lure of my children calling for me to come join them in the pool was too great....I headed straight down to cool off  and have some fun with my kids! Summer is here....

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Two cherries and a silver Christmas ball #83

Daily painting #83  6"x4" oil painting on primed canvas board

I love the atmosphere of Christmas... There is something magical about this time of year! 

My cats are enjoying it too....the Christmas tree is a great source of entertainment with all those shiny balls just waiting to play 'hit and catch" and when they finally fall off, the shiny balls like this silver one are such fun to chase around the room!! Let's hope the whole tree doesn't come tumbling down!

 This silver ball was rescued from the cat yesterday, he was staring at it pawing the image of the cat reflecting back at him.... He just couldn't understand why I took his new found friend away!

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Protea for Christmas #82

Daily painting #82. 6"x8" oil painting on primed canvas panel

So which flowers will be gracing my table on Christmas Day when the family come for lunch? 

Of course...proteas! Christmas decor with a bit of a South African touch! A bit of rustic meets traditional... Some grass hand woven placemats, glass, crystal, silver balls, rustic candle sticks and some beautiful vibrant proteas to take centre stage! Do you also have fun decorating the table for Christmas? Now that I have planned my Christmas table I need to give some thought to the menu...the only serious consideration I have given to food lately is when I am painting it! Tomorrow I need to find some culinary inspiration ....

Enjoy this simple protea... They really are one of my favorite flowers! I love the fact that yesterday I sat using tiny brushes to build up a fairly realistic image of mince pies. Today, I worked with bigger brushes, enjoying the build up of dollops of wet paint that could be moved around and worked back into. Teaching forces you to be able to move out of your comfort zone and embrace many techniques or else your students will all end up painting like carbon copies of yourself. I try hard to help my students find their own individual style. It has taken me a long while to embrace being able to shift the way I work with my brushes and my paint (depending on my mood) as being something positive rather than a hindrance ....it keeps me on my toes and keeps me experimenting with paint and every painting should be an exploration!

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Christmas mince pies #81

Daily painting #81. 5"x7" oil painting on primed canvas panel

Today has been a hard day ....we all have those sometimes! My mum was admitted to hospital for some tests and I have spent the day pacing around, doing nothing and worrying too much! I will get a real blasting from her if she reads this post...her attitude is always "don't worry it doesn't help...just makes you feel worse...and things always work out!" Well, I worried anyway and struggled to settle in my studio and actually couldn't even face up to doing any painting....

Then I started to read all the awesome comments from some of you who follow my daily painting. A loyal supporter (you will know who you are)  sent me a message to say she looks forward to my paintings everyday.... And another said she had been waiting to see some Christmas images....and there were many more encouraging comments ....wow...how you all cheered me up! You all made my day. I pulled myself together ....and painted...and loved it!

I am reminded of 2 important things today...

1. Always take the opportunity to say something nice to someone...you never know how much they might be needing your generosity of spirit (thank you people)
2. When I avoid painting....it is normally the time when my head (and soul) need it the most! So paint...

Kind people, painting, coffee and delicious mince pies saved the day.... Thank you x

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Christmas tree #80

Daily painting #80. 6"x6" oil painting on primed canvas panel

Today I have completed 80 days of little dinky daily paintings...random recordings of the mundane and everyday! With Christmas only a week away, I decided it was time to add a bit of festive cheer! A random recording of  a shiny Christmas bauble hanging on the tree... I love Christmas trees!

This year my children decorated the tree ....they wanted to do it by themselves! I think they did a fine job....don't you?  So in the lead up to Christmas .... Stay safe, have fun, love those close to you, take some time to slow down and recharge...most importantly remember the reason for the season!

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Hardy roses #79

Daily painting #79. 6"x6" oil painting on primed canvas board SOLD

About 2 years ago we adopted two puppies from a local animal welfare called Animal Anti-cruelty. They are both beautiful 'children' but I am afraid they have been the absolute destruction of my already desperate garden! Regularly the ladies arriving for art classes, besides having to avoid being bowled over by over enthusiastic welcomes from my puppies (actually fully grown but still behaving like puppies), they have to dodge the large craters that have been dug in the garden! About the only 'safe' patch in my garden, or should I say the only plants that have not been chewed or dug up are the roses...I think their only saving grace being their vicious thorns! But while they have been saved from the dogs they have been neglected by me...I no longer spray with all the horrid poisons which supposedly kill bugs, prevent disease and 'care' for the blooms and the rose food which they used to be lavished with, gets eaten by the pups! 

Despite this the faithful plants continue to provide me with beautiful flowers...for how much longer I am not too sure! As for the rest of the garden...I think it's time for 'the pups' to learn that at 2years old they need to calm down....

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