Wednesday, 19 August 2020

Ocean view

 Ocean view, British Columbia. Oil on Masonite, 20 x 15 cm:


Doesn't hurt to now and then try something I am not so familiar with. A Canadian friend of mine posted a photo on Facebook, and I shamelessly stole it to use as reference photo. I couldn't quite do it justice, I think...



Monday, 17 August 2020

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.


Sunday, 26 July 2020

Mission Station, Tweespruit

Oil on Masonite, 20 x 25 cm:

SOLD

The Belgian-South African artist Frans Claerhout spent his last years here, in the small Free State town of Tweespruit. During his life, his art generated millions of rands. But as Catholic priest, he did not keep a cent of it for himself; it was all used in development projects in the community where he served, and he retired in humble circumstances, sharing a house with another retired priest. He died in 2006.