Pensioners Tea, Kistenbosch

My blogging has seriously been off lately.  Have just noticed it's two weeks since I posted.  In fact, I've been avoiding the computer just lately - spending more time in the garden which needs tending to more often now with all this new growth!  Plus it's kind of nice outside in the Summer Sunshine.

I spotted these two lovely older ladies at Kirstenbosch one Tuesday (pensioners get free entrance on Tuesdays) having a cup of tea from their picnic basket.  Note the elegance of the china cup!

I so enjoyed painting this one, and for once put in a background of trees!  Hope you enjoy it too.

Revised Kirstenbosch

Thank you, thank you to all for your input on my painting of the kids at Kirstenbosch.  I really appreciated your input and took Celeste's advice about the orange wash as well as comments on the background.

So, far fewer bushes in the back and an orange glaze, this is the best pic I could get, so please excuse any glare.

Our Visit to Kirstenbosch

At the end of our Summer, I took some photos whilst sitting at the exhibition at Kirstenbosch.  There was a group of pre-school and school children out for the day being shown the sites and sounds of our wonderful botanical gardens.

I posted one painting I did of three of the little ones sitting on the steps, and this is another one, this time of five of the youngsters resting their weary little bones after traipsing around the gardens.

I took me a long time to finish this.  I did a lot of scraping off and repositioning, but finally got it more or less where I wanted it.  Not 100% happy, but can't figure out what is lacking!  Any help out there?

Kirstenbosch Visitors

Whilst on duty at Kirstenbosch during the Merit Exhibition, a group of pre-schoolers came for an outing through the gardens.  

This is a regular occurrence during the week with all sorts of school groups coming through to learn about the gardens, how they are run, and more importantly, to respect the natural order of nature and not to just pick and destroy.

This little group was part of a very much larger group who gathered together on the stone steps waiting for instructions and direction from their teachers.  They were also the cause of much photographing by the adults, including me, as they presented such a cute picture.  I am hoping to do a few more of the kids as they sat on the steps, but this is the first.

and a close up of the three

I have also been given another award - Martine Alison who does the most amazing paintings, writes in French, a language I have had no connection with, and consequently have to rely on Google translate to understand fully what she says.  She is a lovely lady who never fails to leave a comment on my blog.  Martine, bless you, and thank you.

The Dell, Kirstenbosch

I must start by wishing all my blogging friends a wonderful, prosperous and happy painting 2009.

Dianne McNaughton posed the question in her last blog - how do different people motivate themselves to paint! Well, all I know is when it gets this hot, I cannot do anything. And today is no exception. I know my blogging/cricketing friend in India, Sanjeev Joshi, would laugh, but honestly when the temperature hits 30 deg C (86 def F) I become useless. I go into my art room and just sit there looking at the canvas, listlessly put a few strokes down, and then have to find some cool spot. And the coolest spot in the house is where the computer is! I will make the effort later when it cools down but in the meantime I thought I would post this painting.

It is of the Dell at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. It's such a lovely cool area in the gardens, starting from the pool shaped like a bird and appropriately called after the Colonel who designed and built it, Cnl Bird! flows over a small waterfall and onto the Dell where it forms a small pool before going under a stone footbridge.

We were 'plein air' painting that day, and I gave up and took a photo to do this picture, but the peace and tranquility of the area stayed with me. I hope I conveyed it.