Last month we went down to Adelaide for a Birthday party and left early in the morning, so that the sun was still low on the eastern horizon when I photographed this beautiful view beside the road. Just had to paint it !! Hope you like it too.
Tag: karoo landscapes
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EDM. Every Day in May challenge, 2018
Robin eating cheese, Cape robin-chat, Cossypha caffra 
Silvermere farm road after rain 
Blue flowers in my garden. Lavender, Plumbago & Rosemary. 
Mountain Reedbuck, (Redunca Fulvorufula) on a misty & rainy day on Buffelskloof Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga. 
Tree by the roadside. Acacia Sieberiana. 
Portrait of John on his Birthday 
Grey Crowned Crane, Balearica regulorum, 
Gate on the Hill 
Autumn fruits and leaves. Tomatoes, Chillis, Rose-hips & Leaves of the Virginia Creeper. 
Lone sheep in Karoo Veld 
Buffelskloof Pine Forest. Mpumalanga 
Remembering dear Uncle Tony Fitt 
Mum’s Blue Tea-set, Mother’s Day. 
Silvermere Sunset and puddles after rain 
Chloë and John’s Birthday Portrait. Grand daughter and Grandpa sharing a tender moment. 
Expectant Ewe, lambing season, Silvermere. 
Secretary Bird, Sagittarius serpentarius 
Farm Road with Gumtree shadows 
Mana & Rufus, my brother’s cats. 
The Doves of Pentecost 
Karoo, Road through Veld to the Windmill. 
Sketchbook, Old Farm Boots 
Commemorating Chelsea Flower Show 2018. Floral wallpaper. On homemade paper. 
Hansie Lambs, Orphans. 
The forgotten houses on Buitekant St. Burgersdorp 
White-breasted Cormorant, drying his wings, Loch Logan, Bloemfontein. 
Sunset over Farm Dam. Silvermere 
Windmill Repairs, on Silvermere 
Feeding Guinea Fowl 
Clown-faced cow and calf 
Kalahari Karoo, between Prieska & Vanwyksvlei -
Another farm scenery order.
Soon after the Shearing shed painting, I had this order for two farm scenes, from the Eastern Cape beyond Cradock.
Aloes on the hill, Eastern Cape. SA 
Bakkie ride -
Every Day in May challenge, 2017.
For the last two years I have managed to take up the EDM, The Every Day in May Challenge. It has been quite enjoyable if rather time consuming, and difficult to fit in on busy days. However, this year, I had an important big commission to start, so only completed half of the daily painting challenge. So here are the 15 paintings, it ended with the very personal sketch of my husband, John and his Grand daughter, Chloë, who share a 15th May Birthday. In April we travelled to Lambert’s Bay so several of these are inspired by scenery on that trip. The paintings appear in order of the days, from the first picture of the ewe and lamb, painted on the 1st May up till the last one, the portrait of Grandpa and Grand-daughter, on the 15th May.
Ewe & lamb resting 
Cape Gannets, Lambert’s Bay, South Africa 
Dry Karoo near Canarvon. 
Lambert’s Bay Harbour 
Kelp Gulls, and Sacred Ibis, Lambert’s Bay. SA 
Ewe’s portrait. 
Old shed and windmill near Williston. 
Tails-up ! Warthogs. 
Pyracantha Augustifolia. Yellow Firethorn. 
Meercat Portrait. 
Silvermere scene of Agaves and Windmill. 
Old cottage in Canarvon. 
Red Grass, Themeda Triandra. Rooigras. 
The Lord Bless You and Keep You…. ( Lily Pond ) 
Grandpa, Chloë & the tortoise. -
Karoo
Old shed and windmill near Williston. Dry Karoo near Canarvon. Ewe & lamb resting Silvermere scene of Agaves and Windmill. Ewe’s portrait. -
Karoo farm gate
Getting back to painting at last ! Here is my first for 2017. A little karoo farm scene with an old gate.
Karoo Farm Gate -
The Road Ahead
During our July 2015 Trans-Karoo trip we were constantly enjoying the surprise of coming over the rise to discover new country we’d never seen, and the pleasure and delight of that experience was portrayed in my first painting,entitled : “The Road Ahead”
The Road Ahead, near Hopetown. But soon after it went into the website Gallery, my brother bought it. I was sad to see it go, as it signified the enjoyment of that journey that we loved so much. So it wasn’t long before I dug out another photo, a similar scene further along on that same trip : ” The Road Ahead 2 ”
The Road Ahead (VanWyksvlei to Canarvon) Fortunately I still have this one and it is framed & has pride of place in my lounge where I can see it every day, as a regular reminder of that memorable trip.
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Van Wyk’s Vlei Donkey Cart.
Donkey Cart in Van Wyk’s Vlei. During our Trans Karoo trip in July 2015, we visited Van Wyk’s Vlei in the central karoo. This little scene with the donkey cart, salt bush and sleeping dog, just needed to be painted ! I decided to paint it for an upcoming exhibition in Burgersdorp in October. So I am using it as the advertisement for the exhibition, on Facebook and elsewhere. Here it is as the Poster. The text has been added digitally, and does not actually appear on the painting, that will be on display at the October Show. Please come and visit if you are in the neighbourhood, in October.
Exhibition poster for October 2016, in Burgersdorp. -
EDM 2016, The Everyday in May Challenge.
In 2015 I took up the “Everyday in May” challenge, and when May 2016 rolled around, I was keen to give it another try. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey, and hope you will too; while scrolling through these 31 sketches.
Day 1 of the Everyday in May 2016 challenge. EDM 1. 
Day 2. Everyday in May challenge 2016. Benjamin visited recently. 
Day 3 of the Every Day in May Challenge 2016. Sunset from my kitchen 
Common Waxbills in my garden yesterday. Love the way they wag their tails like dogs. 
Day 5, Everyday in May Challenge 2016. Little Karoo scene north of Bethulie in the Freestate. 
Day 6, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, A little marmalade farm cat. 
Day 7, Everyday in May challenge 2016. One of the two shearers we had last week, to shear a few grown lambs. 
Day 8, Every day in May challenge 2016,. The second of the 2 shearers that came to shear a few grown lambs. 
Day 9, Every day in May Challenge, colourful farm fowls seen recently. 
For those who would like to add their own colours, I added this original line drawing. 
Day 10, Every Day in May 2016, a little misty scene on Silvermere. 
Day 11, Every Dayin May challenge, sheep portrait from one of our Afrino flock 
Day 12, Everyday in May Challenge, a detail of one of the Acacias we have on Silvermere. 
Day 13, Everyday in May Challenge, Eggs in three of my favourite old eggcups. 
Day 14, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, The informal settlement on the edge of Aliwal North. 
Day 15, Everyday in May challenge 2016, “Happy Birthday” to Grandpa & Granddaughter who share the 15th May Birthday. 
Day 16, Everyday in May challenge 2016, I used a turtle dove and my Bible to illustrate the commemoration of Pentecost. 
Day 17, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, lovely view of the autumn-leafed trees from the bridge over the Stormberg Spruit. 
Day 18, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, While taking photos of a herd of Sable Antelope recently, I noticed all the young ones in a group together. 
Day 19, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, Autumn trees beside the road at Sonskyn. 
Day 20, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, We have employed two fencers to make repairs to all the Silvermere fences that have deteriorated. 
Day 21, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, The second of our two fencers working here since April. 
Day 22, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, three of the Sable Antelope that I photographed on a neighbouring farm recently. 
Day 23, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, A little view of our farmyard buildings, as seen when driving down our road. 
Day 24, Everyday in May Challenge 2016. Very few roses left in my autumn rose garden, except these two, in celebration of the start of the Chelsea Flower Show that started today. 
Day 25, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, three of our orphaned lambs. 
Day 26, Everyday in May Challenge, 2016, In 2008 we had a devastating veld fire that burnt some of our veld and our neighbour’s farm too. 
Day 27, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, A little farm road with gate and windmill, below the dam wall. 
Day 28, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, A little winter scene, from 2014, early in the morning with frosty sheep. 
Day 29, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, One of my favourite birds that is now nesting in the trees nearby. Such lovely chatty and cheerful characters 
Day 30, Everyday in May Challenge 2016, A view of rain falling over the Kramberg mountain, from the Knapdaar to Burgersdorp Road. 
Day 31, of the Everyday in May Challenge 2016. Decided to do some calligraphy for this final day of the challenge, with an encouraging message to end off with ! -
Grootevallei
This was my first order for 2016, a scene on the road from Knapdaar to our farm Silvermere. A view of the valley looking north over the game farm, Grootevallei. The painting was to be a gift for the regular hunter from Sweden, Carl Piper.
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Our July 2015 Trans-Karoo trip. -Paintings, part one.
It is about eight years since our last trip through our beloved karoo. So we took a short two day trip from, Colesburg to Hopetown, Prieska, Vanwyk’s Vlei, Canarvon and Loxton, where we spent the night. The next day we meandered home via Three Sisters, Murraysburg, Richmond, Middleburg and Steynsburg. The main purpose of the trip, was to find painting inspiration & to take a new batch of photos. It was a lovely trip, and these few are the first batch of paintings. More will follow in due course.
Dawn on the road between Colesburg & Philipstown. 
Derelict Farm House The Road Ahead, near Hopetown. 
Lonely Windmill, near Prieska. 
Love this old ruin, near Van Wyksvlei. It could make a perfect stage set. -
Windmills of the Karoo
Windmill sketch When windmills propel gently through the breezes in lazy rotations, or spin frenetically facing into the strong winds that sweep across the karoo plains, I am often mesmerized by them. They knit together the vast expanses of earth and sky, in perfect stately harmony. Like elegant sentinels, windmills tower over the vast expanses of veld that surround them. They have held a deep fascination for me ever since I first settled here many years ago, and have featured quite prominently in most of the karoo landscape paintings I’ve done over the years. Here are 3 small veld scenes and one rough sketch, to add to the catalogue of windmill studies done time and again.
Teebus & Koffiebus with windmill. 
Dreunberg Windmill 
Farm road & windmill.
