Monday, March 11, 2013

Prints for sale, and back at the Dam


Urban Sketchers has a new online store where you can buy prints of sketches from around the world, including these two of mine. All the art in the store raises funds in support of the USk blog and the upcoming symposium in Barcelona - which I was planning and looking forward to going to until my daughter announced her wedding date for a week later. Ah well, exchanging one happy event for another, not a bad prospect!
I chose these sketches as typical scenes in Johannesburg, very familiar to me. The jacaranda sketch I described in this blog post last November. The top one I did a couple of years ago, at Emmarentia Dam near my home. These basket ladies sit outside the entrance to the 'Dog Park' where we often go walking. If business is quiet they pick up their wares and walk around trying to find customers, keeping an eye out for security guards, as trading in the park is illegal. I sketched these three coming towards me from a distance - the furthest figure in my sketch actually being the woman in front, by the time they were up close I was scribbling down the one bringing up the rear.

On our last Joburg Sketchers sketch date we also went to 'the dam', the venue for our very first meeting back in August 2010 - still only four of us since a few of our regular sketchers have departed Jhb for more picturesque surroundings. But we make do with what we have, so once again applied ourselves to the geese, the pecked-bare red earth, the trees and the people...



8 comments:

Robyn Sinclair said...

I always love your ladies, Cathy. Beautiful lively sketches as usual. I think I'd like your dam.

RH Carpenter said...

Great artwork and I love the lady with all the baskets :) Now I'll have to visit the site for the online store!

Vandy said...

Your jacaranda trees made me really homesick. We lived on Mowbray Rd in Greenside and the trees all along the road were magnificent.

The ladies at Emmarentia Dam made me smile too.

Cathy Gatland said...

I think you would Robyn, though it's not Tuscany! Thank you :-)

Rhonda, I see basket ladies often while driving and always want to stop and draw them, not always possible!

Vandy, this was a few roads up from Mowbray, but we have sketched there before, the jacarandas there are fantastic!

http://carolking.wordpress.com said...

I always love your sketches. The NYC urban sketchers are meeting this Sat. not far from where I live. I will try and drag my butt out this time.

And congratulations on your daughter's wedding. I can't wait to see your paintings from that happy event.

Unknown said...

Lovely colourful sketches as always.

Cathy Gatland said...

Thanks Carol - don't know if I'll have a chance to sketch - will have to be a bit more sociable than that I think! Hope you got to the sketch meeting :)

Thank you Sue!

Unknown said...

great pics..love it

please take a look at my blog, too :)
http://freie-kunst.blogspot.de/