Back in the land of the living

It appears I am not done with art after all. Or perhaps I was done with art, but art was not done with me. In recent times, I once again found myself drawing and painting. Once the bug bites, it never lets go, it appears.

I spent some time working from reference, such as stills from a film (in this case, The Name of the Rose):

Or trying somewhat detailed sketches from various reference photos:

But, as I have discovered before, I seem not to really enjoy working from photos. I am not too sure why, but whatever the reason, I am now back to working mostly from life. One evening during a power cut, I sketched this self-portrait by candlelight:

It's a bit lopsided, if you ask me. In my defense, it was really dark and by the candlelight I could hardly see my own image in the mirror, let alone the drawing. You can it was winter by the way I am bundled up in wool - when the power goes, so does the heating!

Under better conditions, a sketch of a pine cone, a challenging but interesting subject:

Mexican poppy

Mexican poppy, Argemone ochroleuca. Originally from Mexico, it is now a widespread weed in southern Africa.

Datura

Cosmopolitan weeds. Datura ferox:

And Datura stramonium:

In both species, all parts of the plant are toxic, especially the seeds. Because the toxin can lead to delirium and hallucinations, the plants are sometimes used as recreational drugs. Not a good idea at all, and death as a result of intentional or accidental Datura poisoning is not unheard of. 

Pompom weed

Pretty, but very invasive in some areas of South Africa: pompom weed (Campuloclinium macrocephalum). Originally from South America, it has spread into many South African habitats, where it often displaces areas of grassland.

People in the know tell me that pulling these out can stimulate the remaining bits of root to even further growth, thus worsening the problem. Currently controlled by the laborious method of spraying herbicide on individual plants while trying not to harm the plants surrounding it, and by removing and burning the flowers. 

Cestrum

A species of Cestrum. Originally from the Americas, they are somewhat popular garden plants in South Africa. In some areas they have become invasive. They are also poisonous to some livestock.

Grass aloe

Aloe veracunda. It is one of a group of slender-leaved aloes known as grass aloes. The aloes have traditionally been classified under the family Liliaceae, and for the purpose of this blog, I'll keep them there. I have seen them classified under several different families though - taxonomy seems to be in a state of flux at the moment.

Wild apricot

Ancylobotrys capensis, Also known as wild apricot. The fruits are pleasantly sweet-sour. If the baboons leave you any, that is. They are found mostly along the edges of rocky hills.

Wild wormwood

Artemisia afra, also known as wild wormwood or, in Afrikaans, wilde als, a common herb in Gauteng. Used by traditional healers to treat chest conditions and intestinal worms. The crushed leaves are fragrant and probably actually help to open up the sinuses. Not sure about the worms, mind you.

Protea

Protea caffra, one of the most common species of Protea in Gauteng province.

Sweet thorn

Acacia karroo, a.k.a. sweet thorn, found throughout much of southern Africa. According to the Wikipedia page on the species, it is also known as Vachellia karroo, and it has a whole collection of other Latin synonyms. It is somewhat unusual in that it seems to have more (and more confusing) scientific names than common names.

Still alive

Having sort of given up on visual art, it has been ages since I posted anything here. But I found myself regaining my old interest in natural history, and thought this blog might serve me as a sort of personal, online field guide to whatever I find in nature.

I still do the odd sketch, but now mostly to aid plant identification.

This is a ballpoint sketch illustrating some features of the Cape honeysuckle, Tecomaria capensis. Often used as garden hedge plant around here.

Some photos:

And two more...

Two more miniatures in post-impressionist style. Both are in oil on canvas board, 10 cm x 10 cm (4 x 4 inch).

This is not altogether whimsical; I took the reference photo of this strange friendship a year or two ago. The calf is not quite as blue in the original as it appears here - it can be rather difficult to get the colours on a digital photo exactly as they appear in the original:

Portrait of Itumeleng:

I have never actually tried to paint (as opposed to draw) a portrait, so the whole thing was done in a somewhat overcautious and tentative manner. Maybe it will go better next time.

Post-impressionist miniatures

Two small paintings in the post-impressionist style. Oil on canvas board, 10 x 10 cm ( 4 x 4 inch).

A plethora of pigeons

I have been trying to use bold, black charcoal outlines to create something of an expressionist style. I have seen extremely detailed, refined work done in charcoal, but I don't think I could ever manage that (not even in pencil!) Hence, for me, charcoal is a medium for fast, playful work.

I like birds, so here I drew one pigeon after the other.

#32: Compound leaf

Compound leaf of a carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua). As I mentioned before, I just love old, well weathered leaves as subjects for drawing!