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!

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

Chocolate biscuits #590

Daily painting #590 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panels

I am aware that I may be confusing some of you and it is all a matter of linguistics. Please someone feel free to correct me if I am wrong but for my American friends a biscuit is something savory served with gravy or a meal. In South Africa what we refer to as a biscuit is probably called a cookie. 

That technicality sorted, I am unashamedly admitting to feeding my children chocolate biscuits/cookies in the bush for breakfast! Yes..."irresponsible mother with no knowledge of the dangers of sugar", is perhaps what you may be thinking but a mother has to have some ammunition (bribery actually) up her sleeve to convince sleepy teenage children to be up, dressed and out of their warm beds by 4.30 am on a chilly winters morning when they are on holiday! Yes I know..."cruel mother", is what you may be thinking now but let me explain how things work in the bush. Time is of no consequence and everything is gauged by the rising and setting of the sun...no watches needed, I never usually wear one anyway so this is just right for me! Besides you all know my love affair with skies so being witness to sunrise and sunset each day is pure heaven on earth for my soul! I am starting to get distracted...back to the bush...an animals most active time of day (unless they are nocturnal) is early morning and early evening. It is the time when they are most visible as they are out and about hunting or eating and interacting. As the day moves on and the sun gets higher in the sky, the day gets hotter. It's winter and we experienced up to 28 degrees celsius at midday on some days (about 83 degrees fahrenheit I think that would be, please correct me if I am wrong) and yes I said... it is winter! So in the midday heat animals become less active to conserve energy and tend to find shady spots under trees (often in long grass) to rest until the day starts to cool off again as the sun starts to lower in the sky. So finding animals in the bush under shady trees or long grass becomes much harder as they are so camouflaged and so still. Isn't nature amazing?

So back to my confessions of a bad mother...getting up early is crucial to finding a spot where one can sit quietly and observe animals about their daily feeding or interacting habits. While it is hot  by
midday, the early mornings are chilly (if you have a South African acclimatized system) and so we leave with plenty of warm drinks...coffee, hot chocolate and rusks ...and yes chocolate biscuits which help to wake up sleepy teenagers and keep them happy! Although once you get your first early morning glimpse of the sun rising over the bush and veld (grasslands) and the beautiful African  animals, your heart is sold and you realize it was all worth it! Only problem is that now that we are  back home...chocolate is definitely NOT allowed for breakfast...and the teenagers can't understand why! 

I hope you enjoy seeing a few early morning photos...

From an irresponsible, totally irrational (chocolate loving) and soulful Mom! x

P.S. Just for the record yummy breakfast items like breakfast muffins, sausages, fruit and other yummy goodies were packed into the picnic basket too but chocolate (and good coffee for Mom) somehow does the trick to start! I wonder why....

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

Grey Lourie (go-away bird) #589

Daily painting #589 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel 

We have just got home from a week long trip to The Kruger National Park, a large game reserve in Mpumalanga north of South Africa and bordering Mozambique. I love nothing better than time away in the African bush and we stay in a rustic house in the open bush just outside of the game reserve. The area we stay in has animals roaming around but is fenced in order to keep the main predators out. But leopards can't be kept out by fences so its not a good idea to go walking around at night...at least not too far from the fire! You all know how much my husband loves to make (and cook over) a fire (yes...a direct descendent from the caveman) so we had a healthy fire roaring every night!

 Our connection on our mobile phone was weak, but the data connection on my laptop would crash every time I tried to do anything involving images so I had to give in to the fact that sharing Paintings in the post just wasn't going to happen unless I wasted my holiday fighting (and getting madly frustrated) with an inadequate internet connection. The irony is that the whole point of being in the bush on holiday is to actually take a break from all electronics and the stresses of every day and live a simple and SO satisfying existence for a few days. So I relinquished my frustrations and threw myself into enjoying time with my paintbrushes and paint, my camera (which goes everywhere with me), my family and this little piece of Africa which is just like a little jewel and needs all the love, attention and passion it deserves as so little of this space and wild life is left. Do you know that the Rhino is the one animal that has no natural predators/threats? It's only known predator is humans...the rest of the story speaks for itself...a tragedy!

So over the next few days I will share a few of the little daily paintings I did while I was away and I did promise to share some of my photos so I will do that too...with the help of my healthy home internet connection! And a large dose of reality and nostalgia ... while I love being home, the bush feels like another lifetime away already so I too will enjoy pouring over my photos deciding which ones to share with you. It always amazes me how once you get home you slip into daily routine again so quickly and it's only now that I am home that I truly understand the blessing of being disconnected (in the literal and figurative way) for a whole week! But I am back and looking forward to sharing with you again ...

A Grey Lourie bird is commonly known as the 'Go-away' bird because it has a piercing repetitive chirp that sounds as if he is saying, "go-away go-away go-away". It is fascinating to listen to when you first come across one but after a while you really do wish he would simply GO-AWAY and not come back ...for a while! I had to paint him quickly because he kept moving so I had to try capture the essence of him rather than worry too much about detail. He wouldn't behave as a good model should and stay still....he was too busy telling me to 'Go-away'! I have also shared some of the other beautiful birds that came to say hello during the week...beautiful creatures I am sure you will agree.

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

Kruger light #588

Daily painting #588 4"x4" oil on primed canvas panel 

Our boys played in the finals today and sadly lost their first game of the tournament which left them the runner-ups in the competition at 2nd place. We are all so proud of our boys!

We left Nelspruit and headed off to the Kruger National Park about an hours drive away to the lower end of the Game Reserve on the Crocodile River. It is SO great to be back in the African bush...it is quite honestly my favourite place on the earth! The evening light was beautiful and my camera had its work cut out for it from the time we arrived! I promise to share some photos this week too. Just from our look out over the River we had spotted 4 of the big 5 in the early evening within an hour...buffalo, elephant, rhino and a leopard sleeping up a tree. I feel privileged! 

This is quite honestly the smallest little painting I have ever done at only 4"x4". I photographed it next to a matchstick to try give you some idea of its size...it really is dinky! I found just a few of these little miniature size painting boards before I left. Trying to photograph the painting square on proved to be a challenge as it is so small I had to zoom in a little....but it is square...I promise.

Our back garden for the week.....

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

Super-C sweeties #587

Daily painting #587 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

Amy and I went to the local store to stock up on water, bananas and a few other refreshments for Ross (they play the whole day...it's a long day). Thrown into the loot were some little rolls of Super-C sweeties as a treat. One of the rolls came apart and the sweeties were falling out so before they were eaten...they were painted!

We have been playing at some beautiful cricket grounds...but it is cold!!

My little (big actually) darling...trying to keep warm during their morning warm-up session! Love this boy!

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

Changing light, changing colours #586

Daily painting #586 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

The winter light is beautiful and in the chilly afternoon the subtle colours seem to move and change as the light shifts. South Africa really is blessed with abundant beauty! 

Purchase paintings at Heidi Shedlock Fine Art
(Click on the highlighted writing to view gallery of available daily painting and for all purchase details)