In the recent post entitled, ‘Karoo Interlude’, I mentioned that in my youth, on travels with my family we covered most of Rhodesia; (Zimbabwe) while researching the trees species that were my father’s particular interest. We often travelled in the area between Bulawayo and the Victoria Falls where large forests of Mopane, Teak and Mahogany grew abundantly, as well as many other beautiful trees. This watercolour is reminiscent of those wonderful forests and painting it was a deeply nostalgic process for me !
Road through the Mopanes. Watercolour. 700 x 500 mm
Thirty years ago, our son, John Oliver was given a little rabbit called Flapsocks. He was a delightful and soft little bunny, and as these things happen, time passed and we got more rabbits and later guinea pigs too.
photo of John and Flapsocks
The wild Cape Hare that we have now, is bigger than a domestic rabbit; but whenever I see him hopping about in the garden, I think of Flapsocks.
Since the Cape Hare has been feeding in our garden quite often recently, I have taken some photos, with the intention of doing some sketches. Unfortunately my photos were of poor quality, so I found a few good ones on the website : ARKive and have worked from those. It has been an enjoyable little excursion; and a reminder of Flapsocks, and those long ago days when our children were little.
Cape Hare study 1. Watercolour. 210 x 295 mmCape Hare study 2. Watercolour. 350 x 250 mm.Cape Hare study 3. Pen & Watercolour 350 x 250 mm.Cape Hare Study 4. Pen and watercolour. 210 x 295 mm
When I first moved to Silvermere way back in 1978, I never thought I would get used to the vast treeless nature of the karoo landscape. It was such a dramatic change after all the wonderful woodlands of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) where I grew up. As my father was particularly interested in botanical research and the trees in particular, we travelled extensively around the country to collect leaf specimens of tree varieties for the Herbarium in Salisbury (Harare). It was such an all consuming interest that our whole family became familiar with identifying the tree species with ease. My brother,(John Burrows) was particularly inspired, and has made a career out of this passion for plants. He has written several botanical books and continues to travel widely throughout southern Africa collecting, recording and photographing various plant species for his research.
Karoo hills & windmill. Watercolour. 325 x 235 mm.
However, despite this heritage, the vast, barren and expansive nature of the karoo has inadvertently crept into my heart. It has become one of my most stirring and favourite painting inspirations. I never tire of photographing it as we crisscross the karoo on every available little holiday adventure. We have travelled so many of the little dirt tracks & farm roads to find new vistas and quaint treasures that would make good painting subjects. We avoid the main tar roads as often as possible, and have covered most of the central & eastern Karoo, as well as Namaqualand, the Northern Cape and the Freestate. But there is always something new over the next horizon, and I doubt that my appetite for these beautiful arid landscapes will ever be exhausted.
Some orders are just beyond challenging! They are enough to make one wonder why we take on commissions. This one is for an American hunter who targets the pigeons that raid the sunflower fields of the northern Freestate.
The fields are ready for harvesting, but the Rock pigeons descend in large flocks to eat the seeds. How dull the painting would have been with only fields ready for harvesting, as it is no doubt in reality. But this is art and needs to suggest the situation without looking like a war zone. So I have added a separate field with flowers still young, to brighten the painting and enhance the subject. It is unlikely that there would be crops at such different stages in development on any sunflower farm, but it was important for the painting.
The sunflower farmers have no alternative but to hire hunters to come to their aid. I don’t like killing anything, but as we face the same problem with Jackal and Lynx raiding our sheep flocks; I do understand their situation. All I can do now is hope that the client will be satisfied.
Rock Pigeons over the Sunflower Fields. Watercolour. 500 x 700 mm
"I know you're there" sheep sketch. watercolour & ink on cartridge. A4
I have an enormous online library of quirky and entertaining photos of sheep taken over the years; and now that photography is digital, it is so easy to capture moods and attitudes at every available opportunity, without the costs of printing them all.
'Two Ewes & a Lamb'. 350 x 250 mm watercolour.
There was a time when I spent far too much on frequent trips to the nearest Foto-First (200 kms away) in Bloemfontein.
'Ewe with twins, cold winter morning'. 325 x 240 mm. watercolour.
But now, with the aid of a trusty printer, I am able to only print what I want to paint, at the moment when inspiration strikes.
"Ewe with twins sketch", watercolour and ink. 320 x 240 mm
It was difficult to choose just 4, for this set, but I really must move on to some other subject matter now. I can’t imagine there are many of you out there who are so entranced by sheep as I am, so I promise to put sheep aside for the moment!
During the 1990’s Bon Jovi became my favourite rock band and I followed them avidly. In 1995 we attended their first concert in Johannesburg. I also joined the fan club, ‘Backstage with Jon Bon Jovi’, and entered a few competitions. I sent a couple of paintings which Jon and his wife, Dorothea apparently received, according to his Mum. At that time Jon’s Mum ran the Fan Club. I won an autographed T’shirt in one competition, and collected all the Albums of their music. But during the next ten years, although I continued to follow their music and enjoyed the odd appearances on TV, gradually the fervor faded and I gave the subscription money to a worthwhile charity instead. I even forgot about the two oil portraits that I’d done during that heady decade; until recently when a friend asked about them, so here they are:
Jon Bon Jovi, 1995. oil on Canvas 450 x 550 mmJon Bon Jovi, 1998, oil on Canvas 550 x 450 mm.
The beautiful Bokmakierie belongs the Bush Shrike family and is such a colourful resident of our otherwise drab winter garden. Although they live and nest here, it is seldom that I am able to photograph them. How lucky I was, and of course a sketch was inevitable !
Rueppell's Griffon & Whitebacked Vulture. 290 x 420 mm.
One of the painting commissions from the client who took photos in the Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya, was of the Whitebacked Vulture. (It was not the Serengeti as I first thought.)
Sketch of Whitebacked Vulture. 310 x 230 mm.
This painting inspired me to make a couple of other studies that are posted here. Researching these vultures revealed many amazing facts about them. The Rueppell’s Griffon, is said to be the highest flying bird, with a recording of 11,000 metres or 36,100 feet, and their wingspan reaches 2.6 metres or 8,5 feet!!
Maasai Mara Whitebacked Vultures. 700 x 500 mm sold.
Here on Silvermere, we have the Cape Vulture, which I haven’t painted yet. These vultures come for the carcasses of sheep and cattle that die in the veld. We sometimes have flocks of about 50 on one carcass. It is wonderful to have them now, as they have been absent for many many years. We still hear reports that they were becoming an endangered species, but at least we have a flock that we see from time to time. Here are a couple of photos that I took of our Cape Vultures that roost on the power lines nearby.
