Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Heritage Day


 It was Heritage Day on the 24th September, when South Africans celebrate their very many different histories, traditions and cultural backgrounds. With my English, Scottish and Swedish ancestry long jumbled up in the past, I would have quite liked to potter around in the garden at home with a good old South African braai to finish off the holiday - but a sketchcrawl had been called, so off I went to the Constitution Hill venue, expecting to draw some of the buildings as I did nearly three years ago.
Well, it was a very busy place, with a 'Light the Way' event planned to coincide with the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York just getting into gear. I had started sketching one of the stair towers housing the 'Flame of Democracy', of the old awaiting-trial blocks which have been preserved as a reminder of the Concourt's grim past - but when some very loud thudding music and dancers started getting into action in the square, I turned my attention to them. (perhaps that distraction was why I put the leaning fellow's hand on the tree in the foreground :-o)
After some frantic drawing, eventually there were too many people blocking my view, with quite a crowd gathered around watching every move of my pen I decided it was time to escape the heat and noise and return to my corner of suburbia, and a relaxed braai with my family.

4 comments:

RH Carpenter said...

Amazing how you can be in the midst of all this and still get great drawings!! I admire your ability to pull out the good stuff from all the people and movement around :)

Sadami said...

You're a wonderful sketcher and artist, Cathy! You're a good story teller, too. Your sketching well captures a mood and movement. I hope I will see you and sketch together! Best wishes, Sadami

Cathy Gatland said...

Thanks Rhonda - I miss a lot of other good stuff too but hey, not a camera!

You are very kind Sadami - I hope so too, one day!

Emie58 said...

Saw this on Urban Sketchers blog so decided to find your blog. I LOVE the way you sketch people... loose, but yet with a great feel for movement and a sense of who they are. I'll be looking back through your blog to see what's there. TFS!