Landscape with cattle herders

 Acrylics on Masonite, 20 x 25 cm:

This work is for sale. Contact me at brianvds@gmail.com

Grandma's chickens

 Oil on Masonite, 15 x 20 cm:

Now and then I feel like doing something in a somewhat expressionist mode...

This work is for sale. Contact me at brianvds@gmail.com.

Northern Cape goat herder

 Acrylics on Masonite, 15 x 20 cm:

SOLD

Or check out my books, if reading is your thing.

Farm landscape

 Acrylics on Masonite, 20 x 25 cm:

This work is for sale. Contact me at brianvds@gmail.com.

Also check out my books, if reading is your thing!

Landscape near Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga

 Oil on Masonite, 6 x 8 cm:

This work is for sale. Contact me at brianvds@gmail.com.

Sunflower field near Brandfort

 Oil on Masonite, 15 x 20 cm:

SOLD

Free State landscape

 Acrylics on Masonite, 15 x 20 cm:

SOLD

I decided to play around a bit with a palette knife, and liked it so much I may well make something of a switch in equipment.

Cabbage field

Acrylics on Masonite, 10 x 15 cm:

SOLD

Outbuildings on a farm

 Acrylics on Masonite, 10 x 15 cm:

SOLD

You see this often when traveling around the countryside: somewhat dilapidated, but clearly still used, buildings, sometimes seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I always wonder about them. What are they used for? Storerooms? Toolsheds? Why were they built in that particular spot? There are fun little mysteries all around us. 

Grain field with silos

 Acrylics on Masonite, 10 x 15 cm:

SOLD

Painted landscapes often don't quite reflect the reality, namely that much of the world is flat as a table. You'd never guess, judging from all those mountains you often see in the background in landscape paintings.

When I started painting, I soon learned why: huge, flat, expansive landscapes are quite spectacular when you stand in them, but they can easily look a bit featureless in a painting, particularly a small painting such as this one. And thus, artists usually put something in there for the eye to focus on, as I did here with the silos.

As I noted elsewhere, I am as fond as anyone of romanticized paintings of rural life, but I also like the more industrial-looking reality of modern farming. 

Lavender field, Western Cape

 Acrylics on Masonite, 10 x 15 cm:

SOLD

Tractor at work

 Acrylics on Masonite, 10 x 15 cm:

SOLD

Pylons

 Pylons near Balmoral, Mpumalanga:

Oil on Masonite, 15 x 20 cm.

This spot is only a few kilometres from where I lived as a boy. It is mid-winter, and the winter frosts have killed off the grass and, it seems, everything else. New growth will burst forth in spring, and by November, if the rains were reasonable, the area will resemble Ireland. 

I find most people don't particularly like this kind of scene: the winter colors are considered drab, even depressing, and the pylons an eyesore. With me it is different, perhaps partly because I grew up in this sort of landscape, and thus perhaps view it through the soft-focus filter of nostalgia. For me, these pylons and their cables snaking over the horizon are very much part of the landscape, and I love the rich but subtle and subdued hues of the winter grass. 

This item will be for sale on my Bid-or-Buy store as soon as it is dry enough to travel.

Landscape with cottage

 Acrylics on Masonite, 15 x 20 cm:

This item may be for sale on my Bid-or-Buy store.

Abandoned home, Karoo

Oil on Masonite, 15 x 20 cm:

SOLD

Sheep in a meadow

Acrylics on Masonite, 20 x 15 cm:

This item may be for sale on my Bid-or-Buy store.

Long-haired sheep

Acrylics on Masonite, ACEO (= 2.5 x 3.5 inches = 64 x 89 mm):

This item may be for sale on my Bid-or-Buy store.

Ear tag

Acrylics on Masonite, ACEO (= 2.5 x 3.5 inches = 64 x 89 mm):

SOLD

Cows are cute, so why not another one?

Grazing cow

Acrylics on Masonite, ACEO (= 2.5 x 3.5 inches, or 64 x 89 mm):

SOLD

It has been a while since I have done any painting; I have been busy working on a new children's book, which will hopefully be available some time in January 2020 - watch this space! But in the meantime, a little ACEO, just to keep me from going completely rusty.

Two pumpkins on a shelf

Acrylics on Masonite, 20 x 25 cm (= about 8 x 10 inches):

SOLD