Enjoying summer

 W&N watercolour on Bockingfo9rd 300gsm 

At this time of year I really enjoy the silhouettes of the trees and hedges against the summer sky.

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The colour of Winter is in the imagination

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

A winter scene in South Africa.

Clear blue skies and trees scorched by veld fires is a familiar sight here in South Africa in winter. With just a few more weeks of cold, we’re looking forward to the August winds which will quickly blow in Spring, bringing everything to life again.

The colour of springtime is in the flowers, the colour of winter is in the imagination.
~Terri Guillemets

And the tree asks, "Why am I here?"

Winsor&Newton watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Every branch shaking, shifting, and falling in the icy wind,
A tiny leaf at the very end holds strong,
Why am I here, questioning wondering waiting, for that final pulse that will blow him down?
But in that tree was a force, a force of life, a force of strength, a force unmatched by the icy wind.
That tree was a young tree, a tree that never crossed roots with wild bushes,
Bore fruits desired by many, tasted by few and discarded by the very planter,
Questioning why am I here, questioning is this the only way,
Now the broken branch begins to fall, now this tree was not very tall,
No other tree was like this tree, this tree was special,
This tree was bearing the strain of an icy wind,
Just as the branch had hit the ground there was silence all around a calm in the drifting storm
Now this was rare, a tree this young, a tree this strange, a neglected tree, a tree with shallow roots, a tree with hollow bark had survived the storm.
Questioning why me?
This tree was a lonely tree,
this tree knew he would grow strong,
weak body strong thoughts kept the tree unmoved on broken paths.
^{Extract from “A tree” – Emmanuel Mohanlall}

Forest path

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A path leading through the Blue gum forest on our smallholding (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa). Walking this trail, I often discover little treasures like rabbits, hedgehogs, tortoises, lots of insects, little wild flowers and the odd snake. We’ve had many enquiries from people wanting to cut the bush down for the wood, but have always declined as many birds call this blue gum bush their home, a little sanctuary as the area gets more and more built up.

Autumn colours (SOLD)

Autumn is in the air  - W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

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Winter is coming!

 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

The first signs of winter are already showing amongst the bluegum trees on our smallholding (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa). Yellow grass, fallen leaves and longer shadows accompany me as I take my (now cold) early morning walks. The lizards and snakes have all but disappeared or only come out much later in the day as it warms up. Even the birds seem to be more quiet, preferring to sit in the top branches of some dead trees, basking in the early morning sun and warming up before taking on the day.

The forest - beautiful and great

W&N watercolour on Arches 300gsm

“All life is figured by them as a Tree. Igdrasil, the Ash-tree of existence, has its roots deep-down in the kingdoms of Death: its trunk reaches up heaven-high, spreads its boughs over the whole Universe: it is the Tree of Existence. At the foot of it, in the Death-Kingdom, sit the three Fates – the Past, Present and Future; watering its roots from the Sacred Well. It’s “bough,” with their buddings and disleafings, – events, things suffered, things done, catastrophes – stretch through all lands and times. Is not every leaf of it a biography, every fiber there an act or word? Its boughs are the Histories of Nations. The rustle of it is the noise of Human Existence, onwards from of old. I find no similitude so true as this of a Tree. Beautiful; altogether beautiful and great."
- Thomas Carlyle

The beauties of Nature

Tasmanian bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus) - Acrylic on Art board canvas 

This large, straight-trunked tree grows to about 70m tall in open forests in south-eastern Tasmania, on Bass Strait islands and in parts of southern Victoria. Its common name comes from the waxy blue-green colour of its juvenile leaves. The plant’s cream-coloured flowers are a good source of nectar for bees and the resultant honey is dense and strongly flavoured. Here in South Africa, this bluegum is widely planted as forage for our honey bee populations.

ITEM ID : BeautiesOfNatureAncrylic

Early-morning Bluegums

Acrylic on Bockingford 300gsm 

The first light of day sweeps across some bluegums (Eucalyptus trees) in Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa.

Bluegums play in important part in South Africa's economy as they provide forage for our threatened honey bee population. 

ITEM ID : EarlyMorningBluegumsAcrylic

PRICE : R650.00 postage included in South Africa

Evening Bluegums

W&N watercolour on Arches 300gsm 8" x 12"

Dedicated to all those who love early-evenings.

As the last of the sun’s rays filter through the Bluegum bush on our property, the forest floor turns into a play of light and shadow. I feel at peace here in nature…

ITEM ID : EveningBluegums
PRICE : R350.00 postage included in South Africa 

Autumn

Candle wax and W&N watercolour on Aqua 300gsm 

Autumn, oh autumn! How you enchant me with your wonderful colours and cool days! How you inspire with your falling leaves, your magical diversity of combining the best of all four seasons in just a few weeks! Your changing fall foliage never fails to surprise and delight me, getting us ready for winter in the most beautiful way! 

Framing suggestion - Black frame with white matting

Trees on a hill

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Some Blue gum trees on our property (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa). The hill is a bit of artistic licence as our smallholding is as flat as a pancake, with deep, rich top soil and nary a stone in sight.

The bottom third of the property consists of a lovely blue gum bush which provides me with hours of sketching material. The rest of the property surrounding the house area is planted with Eragrostis grass (Love grass) which provides lots of nesting areas for the Fan-tailed Cisticolas in summer. I spend hours watching them doing their dipping flights over the grass while constantly chirping.

Framing suggestion

Enter these enchanted woods

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Enter these enchanted woods – Ye who dare

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Blue gum fantasy

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm in small hand-made sketch-book

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Autumn - wonderful time of the year!

A small W&N watercolour in Moleskine 200gsm watercolour sketch-book

Autumn (fall) in South Africa (mid-February to April) offers the best weather of the year. Very little rain falls over the whole country, and it is warm but not too hot, getting colder as the season progresses. In Gauteng, autumn is fantastic, with hot sunny days, blue skies and warm, balmy nights.

Going home

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Bluegum bush at the dam

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

 
Not far from us is this dam with a lovely blue gum bush on one side. I used to sketch here often a few years ago, but now the dam wall is broken and there’s only a stream trickling through when it rains. A great loss to the environment, as it used to offer food and shelter for all sorts of wildlife from Egyptian Geese to a plethora of water birds and lots of small mammals. The price we pay for progress…

Trees are the Earth's Endless Effort

W&N watercolour on DalerRowney 220gsm (135lb) Smooth heavy-weight sketching paper, no preliminary sketching 

Trees are the Earth’s Endless Effort
To Speak with the Listening Heaven.
- Rabindranath Tagore, ‘FireFlies’

Trees are living, breathing creatures. The fact that trees are, in many ways, like intelligent beings may come as somewhat of a surprise to you. This can be explained as follows:

1. 1. A tree eats. Its tiny hair like roots beneath the earth’s surface are always on the hunt for such elements in the soil as nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium.

1. 2. A tree drinks. A generous supply of water is required for carrying nutrients from the soil through the “digestive system” of the tree.

1. 3. A tree digests its food. A tree has a digestive tract. Like a plumbing system, it functions as elements from the soil flow through microscopic ducts in the sapwood from the tiniest of root hairs to the most distant of leaves where tree food is formed on contact with sunlight and C02. The food is then carried through the tree to build up layers of cells in the cambium (the inner skin or growing tissue). Tree growth and root development result.

1. 4. A tree breathes. Like all living matter, a tree requires air. A hard, packed soil at the base of the tree will cut off the tree’s breathing. Supplies of oxygen and carbon dioxide vital to the manufacture of food are absorbed through the soil by the roots, as well as from the atmosphere by the leaves.

1. 5. A tree reproduces. The tree is capable of rearing its own family. Many seeds have wings that, with an assist by winds, carry them to points away from the parent tree. There, soil and sunlight sufficiently permit new, fast growth.

1. 6. A tree “talks.” Listen to trees the next time the leaves rustle in the wind. Thomas Hardy confirmed this when he wrote, “At the passing of a breeze the fir trees sob and moan, the ash hisses the beech rustles.”

1. 7. A tree sleeps. In the winter months, when deciduous trees lose their leaves and the growing processes of evergreens slow down, a tree is getting its rest.

1. 8. A tree has healing powers. A scar, if properly treated, will always heal as long as the tree is alive and growing.

Interesting, right?

The last signs of Winter

 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

The last signs of winter still lingering – a row of scorched wooden fencing that now needs replacing…

I live in a landscape

Winsor and Newton watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

I live in a landscape, which every single day of my life is enriching.

- Daniel Day-Lewis