Sketchercising Day One

I have taken a leap and signed up for Katherine Tyrrell's Sketchercise project... not at all sure that I can keep it up, but as I've been walking around our neighbourhood, on and off, for years, and sketching pretty regularly the last two (almost) blogging years, I thought I'd combine the two and hopefully stimulate both activities.
This morning I packed a compact little watercolour set-up, that'll fit into my belt-bag/hip-pack/bum-bag thingy that I can hide under my roomy track top. I don't like to dwell on the downsides of living in Johannesburg, but carrying any sort of a bag while walking alone in a sparsely populated area, is inviting trouble, and I don't believe the opportunists would take the time to ask what's in the bag before relieving you of it!
Anyway, just a few steps inside the gate of the park surrounding Emmarentia Dam, is this rather smelly stagnant little pond (that our Weimeraner, who hates water in every other situation , delights in leaping into and coating himself in gunge). It was rather an ambitious subject for my planned 15 minutes or so of sketching - I left my watch at home so not sure how long I did spend - but it was a start. All very pleasant, but it seemed to take a big chunk out of the day. I should start out earlier in the morning, but that's so freezing cold here in June until September! And I need a pedometer so I can keep track of my steps.

The Seagull

I decided to try a full-on finished watercolour painting from the seagull sketch in the last post, using a couple more photographs to add reflections of a boat, and the yellow bollard, which struck me at the time as a larger mirror image of the seagull's beak. I don't know if this is compositionally sound, but I liked the three strong shapes of the gull and shadows (is the bottom one too strong? - and it looks like a duck!). I tried to stay loose, but got quite involved in the textures of the flagstones.
Looking at the painting next to the sketch on the screen, I think I prefer the warmer, softer colours in the sketch - darn - I don't know if I have the dedication to do it over again :/

Kalk Bay

A seagull that I sketched from my digital camera with watercolours and waterbrush - it started off well, but the cheap sketchbook paper didn't take to much working of the paint - I might try this on better paper.
Just the loveliest day in Kalk Bay - a fishing harbour which still barely supports a few local fishermen going out to sea in their boats. I hope and pray that the big trawlers on the horizon don't put them out of business for once and for all - a fate that's befallen many a similiar seaside industry.
We were inside the restaurant - 'Livebait' - and had a great view of the harbour and its activities. The two fishermen on the bottom left having their lunchtime 'dop' of sweet muscadel wine. I guess they'd finished fishing for the day!
The opposite side of the bay where waves crash right up against the Brass Bell - another restaurant that's been there as long as I can remember. I believe nobody wants to insure them any more against water damage!

Oh, Darling!

We took a drive up the West Coast during our Cape Town trip, thinking we'd done the other side, the winelands and southern Cape coast so often, we should have a change. Eurgh... I'm sorry, west-coasters, in comparison it was just so flat and boring... the only sights to see the rather subduing ones of the Koeberg nuclear power-station and a non-operational wind farm. We got to Langebaan, which last time we saw it, was a remote little fisherman's village. Its now choked with oversized cluster houses, B&B's a mall and a casino nearby. Sigh.But... a light!... a jewel... we decided to detour to the little dorp of Darling for lunch. We knew one of the icons of South African theatre, Pieter-Dirk Uys had settled there and transformed the disused train-station into 'Evita se Perron' (Evita's platform). His alter-ego is Evita Bezuidenhout, who has long harangued SA politicians with her satiric tongue and mimicking mockery. He has a huge collection of apartheid era artefacts and documents on display, as well as personal letters of appreciation from the Mandelas, Archbishop Tutu and other struggle-heroes, all presented in between flamboyantly kitsch falderols and decorations. If you ever go to see the famous spring Wildflowers of Namaqualand, try and get to Darling and Die Perron as well! She has shows on most weekend evenings too.
Again, the only time we sat still enough for sketching, was over a meal, so with my mouth full of bobotie I scribbled down the only other diners there on a Tuesday, and a fabulous chandelier, memorising the subtle colours to add later on.

A photo of a crazy bird with her face on Evita's body... and a corner of 'Boerassic Park' with some funny sculptures in it and some not so funny old signs.



More eating and drinking sketches! - At the Cape Town Waterfront and in a shopping mall. I'm sorry that we were in such a beautiful place and my sketches are all so not beautiful, there just wasn't time! I took lots of photos and I think I'll be trying to turn some of them into watercolour paintings.
Tomorrow - or the next day (or the next!?) the last day of our little holiday - lunch in Kalk Bay, then I'll be well and truly back in Jozies again.

The Fairest Cape

We're just back from a visit to Cape Town, for a birthday and a short holiday. We thought we'd be going into the notorious Cape of Storms, with weather forecasts of raging gales and torrential rain as we left Joburg - but after a day or two of drizzle and greyness, we got "The Fairest Cape in all the World" (Sir Francis Drake) instead - sparkling sunshine, blue and white sea, awe-inspiring mountains, autumnal vineyards... at its best it has to be about the most beautiful place on earth!We did lots of socialising and driving (had to take full advantage of unlimited free miles in the hired car!) so my watercolours remained untouched and the sketching I did was in 15 to 20 minute sessions, usually around a meal. The sketch above was done from the 'Green Room' we rented in Camps Bay high above the sea, which was a good thing, as that was where all the storm action was. I added colour at home from photos - the day I sketched it was grey and misty. I've gazed in awe at these magnificent cliffside homes over the years and never dreamt I'd ever get to stay in one. As our hostess said, they found a piece of paradise when they bought here 20 or so years ago.

This was over breakfast on Sunday morning from a beachfront café - everything was lined up in rows...waves, cars (I managed to draw the back of a car resting on the front of an SUV - it wasn't really so!) , palm trees, umbrellas, restaurants... We went for a walk along the beach later and saw the aftermath of the storm - thick cappacino foam all over the sea and sand, kelp knotted around every protuberance and beach chairs that were chained together to a post broken, battered and buried. Who would be a sailor!?
An inexpertly pieced together montage of photos taken from the road at the back of our apartment - the mountain range called the Twelve Apostles

Autumn Break

Whee! Finished with the commissioned illustrations for now, and having emailed them off this morning, I fairly dashed down the road to Emmarentia Dam where the clear autumn sunshine and the ducks were calling. After weeks of careful black lines and digital colouring it was so good to dip a brush into real watercolour and splash it onto real paper!
I see now that the waterline is none too straight and the water itself rather murky and unsatisfactory. Lots of room for improvement, but it was a lovely hour or so, and I was glad to catch some of the autumn colours and get away from the computer.
I apologise for not doing much commenting lately (though I have been checking out most of my favourite blogs over breakfast or tea) - after hours on end on the 'pooter and with eyes, neck and shoulders screaming for mercy, I just put it on hold for a while. But thank you to all my visitors here for dropping by and taking the time to leave comments - it is as always very much appreciated. I should be back in the blogging saddle again soon!

A Day at the Zoo

The BFG and me went to the zoo yesterday - the first time (since we've had them) that we've been sans children. There was a birding exhibition on that my friend Wendy had a stall on (see her stunning wildlife cross stitch kits here). On a chilly autumn day, it was relaxing to wander around not worrying if the kids were trying to pet the rhinocerous or feed ice cream to the orang-atangs. And of course to sketch, while B took photos and chatted to fellow animal-gazers. I began with the Johannesburg Youth Orchestra in the rondavel in the middle of the exhibition. I put on a little watercolour later at home, determined not to do my usual 'colouring-in' thing and use it to subtley indicate the season - even so, after planning to put just a splash of colour in the middle branches, couldn't resist doing almost all the leaves, and the little plain(plein?)tree seed balls too.

Then I tried the elephants, but before I'd realised I was using totally the wrong medium to draw their massive bulks quickly before they moved, they lumbered off to a group of people behaving like a bunch of bananas on the other side of the enclosure.

On through the crocodile ponds - I enjoyed sketching this very co-operative model - only it's eyes blinked, so slowly that I caught them in mid-blink I think - they're neither open nor closed. I'd like to go back on a quiet day to draw them. There were a whole necklace of them splayed around the water's edge. The guineafowl feathers were lying around - aren't they beautifully graphic? I can never resist collecting them for some (so far) mysterious purpose.

Up to the lions - there are a few different groups of them cordoned off from each other. This big handsome boy was besotted with the sleeping lioness, licking and nuzzling and resting his head on her. The other poor girl tried to get his attention, getting up eventually and offering him her head for a cuddle, but he snarled and growled at her and she sadly resumed her position. Has she no pride? (sorry!:-)
Lastly the giraffes - as this was my Urban Sketchers date too for the week, I included the very posh Westcliff Hotel up on the hillside. I meant to paint it pink, as it famously is, but this is in water-soluble graphite, so the pink would be dirty puce if I tried.
While I was sketching the giraffes, some little girls came to have a look, and were flatteringly impressed, and wanted to see all my sketches. When they saw the orchestra one they were very excited, as one of them was the girl playing the violin on the left. She was overjoyed to recognise herself. If I'd had my wits about me I would have got their email address and sent them copies of all the sketches - darn it - next time! If you see this, girls, tell me and I will...