New Art 2023: Back to the Garden

I’d love to share some of my new and tantalizing art from the first half of this year with you today.

This year saw me hitting the ground running with a mini exhibition to paint for at the Karoo Art Hotel in Barrydale (I’m happy to report I sold all 18 mini’s – you can see the collage of paintings below). The theme was anything “Karoo.” If you’d like to know more about what the Karoo is (it’s the part of South Africa I live in), click HERE.

I also added some fresh paintings to my Saatchi Art gallery (also below).

I have some of the paintings above available as prints and products (click on the picture or HERE to visit the store).

Inspiration — The Birds and the Bees!

I looked to Karoo life for my inspiration for my new art. And, of course, my love for gold brings out the magpie in me. Coupling these two passions together, I’ve taken to painting the critters from my garden and the indigenous flowers we have here in South Africa, the protea.

I’ve got a little fella that hangs out in our bamboo reeds in the garden — he’s a bumblebee that we’ve called Mr. Busby. You can see him in the painting below 🙂 All the artworks below are still available, at this time, and are also available as fine art prints and canvas prints — just click on the pictures to take you to my gallery.

We have the most magnificent sunbirds in our garden, they sing the sweetest songs and display incredible colours, predominantly a shimmering emerald green and red chest. You can see then, what inspired my painting below.

The last painting I would like to share with you today is the “Dream Weavers.” These gorgeous bright yellow Cape Weavers are a real treat to watch. They fall from the branches like yellow leaves when we feed them out back in the mornings and evenings. We feel very blessed to have them as regular visitors to our garden.

Thanks for looking! Which painting do you like best? Leave your comments below 🙂

Please also visit my online store should you like to see how these paintings look on products — CLICK HERE.

Weathering the Storm: Best Quotes and New Painting

We’ve all heard of the old saying “the calm before the storm“, the anticipation of, well, the manure hitting the proverbial fan. It can be a time of great excitement or anxiety, whichever way you choose to perceive it.

The thing is (actually two things): firstly, anxiety is pretty much the same energy as excitement. Try alchemizing your nerves to excited anticipation next time the opportunity presents itself. And secondly, ‘storms’ help us to grow.

Here are three beautiful quotes to embody this concept:

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
― Vivian Greene

“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

“There is peace even in the storm”
― Vincent van Gogh, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

You can Read more “storm” quotes here: Storm Quotes

Before the Storm Painting

I have just finished a new painting called, “Before the Storm“. It’s a moody, colourful piece that I hope evokes a sense of that excited anticipation and awe of a passing storm.

I’m experimenting with using different colours. Here, I stepped out of my usual comfort-zone palette to incorporate pinks and purples in the sky, they liven up the feel of the building deluge.

The original and prints are available HERE (or by clicking on the picture below) – please note that the international courier is inclusive in the price.

If you are from South Africa, you can view my SA gallery HERE, where I offer complimentary courier within SA.

Thanks for reading!

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