The voice of the sea

Acrylic painting on Giverny 240gsm acrylic multi-medium paper 

The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.
_{- Kate Chopin, ‘The Awakening’}

Some of our most stunning beaches and wild seas are to be found in Ballito, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Unlike the beaches further North, the Dolphin Coast has the most wonderful rocks and boulders on the beaches, extending into the sea for some distance during low tide. Whenever I visit the area, I can spend hours on the rocks, just watching the motion of the sea.

To me it speaks of the mysteries of its depths, the countless lives that have been lost traversing its great expanse, lost treasure and the rich diversity of its animal life, sometimes evident in shells and strange bits and pieces washing ashore. What an awesome piece of our planet!

ITEM ID : VoiceOfTheSeaAcrylic

Moonlit beach

Done from memory – Acrylic painting on primed un-stretched Canvas sheet 

The beaches at St. Lucia way up on the North Coast of KwaZulu Natal (South Africa) are some of the most beautiful in our country and I was lucky enough to be there one moonlit night to witness the spectacular rising of the moon in the East.

Tarlton landscape

Acrylic painting on Giverny 240gsm acrylic paper - done on location in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa)

Not far from us a friend has a dam on his smallholding. When we visited, it gave me a chance to try my hand at some Acrylics, no sketching beforehand.

ITEM ID : TarltonLandscapeAcrylic

Fantasy Arums

 

Acrylic painting on Gesso primed un-stretched acid-free canvas sheet 

Definitely a first for me, doing a subject that is not true to life. I mean, really, Orange Arums?! What next?! Normally for me, as here, once I apply a back-ground, that normally sets the tone for the rest of the colour palette. And it seemed a natural progression of incorporating orange as the contrast to the yellow back-ground.


 

 

Cockadoodledoooo! Good morning!

Acrylic painting on Gesso primed acid free acrylic un-stretched canvas 

This chap was amongst all Solly’s chickens as they strolled through my garden, picking up tit-bits here and there, but he was smaller than all the other roosters and kept to  one side, keeping an eye on the big Black Pirate, who seemed to be in charge of the barnyard. But every now and then he did let it be known that he was around!

ITEM ID : GoodMorningRoosterAcrylic