Leopard

This is Tyson, a very old gentleman who roamed happily on the Munyawana Reserve, minding his own "leopard business". We got to know him well over the years and I was lucky enough to be part of a team who had to dart him to check on the collar he was wearing, and his general well being. What a humbling experience it was to admire, touch, smell, feel his heart beat, in the middle of the night, in the wild. We stayed close by him till he came round safely, and then the whole team drove back to camp in silence. I think we were all wondering what the future was to hold in store for this magnificent cat. Unfortunately  leopards are being decimated in huge numbers, for their skins. Sadly, this was his end as well a few years later.........

Black on white

A group of us artists in Hluhluwe  are painting up a storm for our forthcoming exhibition called " RED ALERT" to raise money towards aiding the sorry plight of our rhino. Living among rhino,seeing them on a daily basis, personally knowing the vets who have to dash to their rescue, makes us even more aware of  what life would be like without these beautiful creatures. And to think that MAN is responsible for this sorry state of affairs is just too much to bear thinking about. Can we possibly be so cruel and ruthless? I feel ashamed of the human race. Anyway, as individuals we cannot make much of a dent, but together we can make a difference. So.... we are raising money to specifically help the Hluhluwe rhino, 'our rhino" by assisting the Honorary Rangers build a hangar for the "Bantam" aircraft donated to Emzemvelo KZN by WWF.

Here is one of my first paintings. It is a black rhino on a white back ground. I must admit rhino, black or white, are one of my favourite animals and I am passionately committed to saving them,,,can you imagine world without these stunning prehistoric creatures?

Workshop

We have just had a wonderful workshop in my studio. My good friend, mentor, fellow artist  Anne Cleveland, came to share her creative knowledge and inspiration with a group of artists in Hluhluwe.We painted flowers- roses in very sweeping, bold strokes and water lilies in Monet's style.  Phew...not so easy!!We were going to paint these en plein air but the lilies on our pond remained closed due to the cold weather...so we had to inprovise and work from photos in the studio. The workshop was such fun and stretched the mind somewhat. here is a photo of me in action as well as the  painting of roses I did.

Streets ahead

I felt like exploring abstacts for a while, a nod towards my varsity work. It was great to see how my style has grown and developed. It was such fun!! The motives have grown out of the wooden panels I have done recently. Oil on Canvas

Star Burst

As all artists, I hit a slump. Badly! I blame it on various distractions. The Easter bunny being one!
The only way to climb out of the humongous. deep, dark crater is to get back into the saddle, so to speak. Artists are hard on themselves and always strive towards improvement, in their art, that is.
I think I finally made the breakthrough this week. Before I show what I have done, I will give you an idea of the build up.

For some time now I have been painting on wooden panels, again influenced by year rings, the patterns in wood, the texture, the soul of timber. "Galaxy" is one of a series, which is currently on exhibit with "Jabulisa" a curated travelling exhibition. Another is " Star Burst" and " Dance by the light of the moon". I love pattern, perhaps influenced by years of fabric painting.

Old Giant-leaf fig tree ( Ficus lutea)

 My creative life has always been influenced by trees one way or another. Earlier  University work so often reflected the year rings of trees as a leitmotif. I loved working on wood, either in on panels, or making wooden block prints.
(I can feel the energy of trees and could not imagine living anywhere, where trees are absent. For goodness sakes, I have even strapped myself to a tree to save it from being felled unnecessarily! This passion for trees led me to start an indigenous nursery in Zululand.)

I find that I have turned towards trees again as a theme. Here I painted an old giant- leaf fig which grows in our garden. It has such character!  The trunk is gnarled, textured, twits and turns, and providing shelter for a multitude of small creatures, from bats to bush babies. Its shear size demands respect! The intention is to paint important trees in my life, capture their beauty, their character, to record their symbolism or function....to treat them as portraits. This is only the start of what I hope will grow into a body of work.

The Spinach Seller

This lady grows her own spinach which she sells at the local market. This is such a typical sight in our rural area. This work forms part of a series I am doing, recording people going about their daily business in Zululand. I tried to capture her pride and energy with bold, quick brush strokes. I loved the bright colour of her head gear and wanted to keep her the most important aspect of the painting. This painting was selected for the KZNSA Gallery's current exhibition "Bold and Beautiful".  I am particularly proud of this painting.