Zebra in my Lounge!

Acrylic and  Oil on Artboard; 509 x 610mm

I did this Zebra recently on special request from my husband,

and it is currently decorating our lounge!

How about a Still Life?

The last watercolour Still Life I did was this one

180 x 230mm

which I did in January 2008, from a still life I set up.



So, doing the protea in the clay pot was quite a change from my normal subjects, which tend to be nature, most often Nguni, lately a few Zebra, landscapes and a seascape here and there. The fun flowers that I did last year were done in acrylic, in a very different style. (More might be coming up!)

Thus, this watercolour was different for me: a different pallette of colours, different shapes and textures, different visual problems to solve. It took a bit longer than I anticipated, but I had fun and am happy with the result. I enjoy the interaction between the earthy reds and the greens, the almost glowing coral colour of the protea, which also mingles with the greens in the shadows, and the texture of the clay pot.

170 x 270mm

Repetition, Rhythm and Skill

More Ngunis!!

YES!  -  I am painting some more Ngunis!!  ☺

I often like to do the same Nguni in watercolour as well as in oil. The effect can be very different in each case, especially when I change the background colour dramatically, as I have done here. I love the interplay between all the warm, earthy colours - the siennas and the umbers - and how they reflect off the white, defining the form of the subject.

Nguni 36

Watercolour, 165x125mm

Nguni 37

Watercolour, 165x125mm

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

Repetition is the mother of all skill! - I learnt that when I had to practise scales every day to improve my pianistic skills!

Besides improving skills, repetition, in the form of rhythm, is definitely the very fibre of music. the same goes for art! Repetition can grow skill, but repetition can also become a very integral part of an artwork, such as the repetitious forms of trees, leaves or grass. Or as pattern in design, like Esher's tassellations. Andy Warhol took it a step further, repeating the same subject, using silk screen printing!

REPETITION is the reality and the seriousness of life.

(Soren Kierkegaard 1813-1855, Danish Philosopher, Writer)

There is REPETITION everywhere, and nothing is found only once in the world.

(Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe 1749-1832, German Poet, Dramatist, Novelist)

So, be warned! More REPETITION is to follow!!!

Nguni 34 & 35 - Changing the scenery!

Grazing in the sunshine:

Watercolour - 165 x 125mm

And resting in the shade:

Watercolour - 165 x 125 mm

Both works are currently unframed.

Nguni 32 & 33

Two more black & white Ngunis from near Mandawe, that I did  near the end of last year.

The works are currently framed.

Watercolour - 170 x 120 mm

Watercolour - 120 x 170 mm

Nguni 23 Revisited

One of my favourite Ngunis - I had to paint it again! I've done  an acrylic (with amber background) and a watercolour already. This one is a nice size oil. I love the expression on its face, and the little path that trails behind it.

Oil on Stretched Canvas - 450 x 600 x20mm

A to Zebra

“So you see! There's no end to the things you might know,

depending how far beyond Zebra you go.” - (Dr. Seuss Quotes)

So I started  a new wildlife series at Zebra!

I intend lingering with the zebra for a while 

(in between Nguni!),

but I also have other wildlife plans up my sleeve!

Here are the first two:

Watercolour 165 x 165 mm

Watercolour - 175 x 175 mm

SOLD

Nguni 30

Another Nguni that I completed recently: 

Nguni 30 - Oil on Stretched Canvas

400 x 300 x 16mm

A number of my more recent Nguni paintings (both oil and watercolour) are now with the BLOU DONKI gallery in Clarens. Two Ngunis are also currently being exhibited  (over the festive season) at artSPACE in Durban (Millar rd, off Umgeni Rd), as part of their annual "Affordable Art" exhibition. 

Two Completed Commissions

I am happy to have completed two commissions recently!

The first one was for a friend of mine, who has a Bed & Breakfast near Rustenburg. She has named it after a bird, the Southern Boubou, for its beautiful call. She wanted something half abstract, half realistic. It had to contain the elements that make her B&B special: the boubou (of course), the thorn trees, the African sunset and the magnificent nightsky.  After a number of preliminary digital compositions,  sketches, and finally a collage, we arrived at a concept that she liked.  

The painting has been finished for quite a while, but we were hoping to combine its delivery with a visit to her B&B. As that possibility faded, we finally sent it via courier, so here it is:

Acrylic and Oil on stretched Canvas - 1160 x 810mm.

The painting contains collage underneath the top coats of paint, so that lettering (of her B&B blurb) shows through in places. It has a very tactile surface and gold coloured paint has been used, especially near the borders and in the sky .  

The second commission was a repeat of a painting I had made some time ago. Although I offered several other compositions and suggestions, the client preferred the original composition. It is a scene of some Nguni at a waterhole, with the Ubombo mountain range of Zululand in the background. So, with a few minor changes, and a slight change in technique (more use of the palette knife), here is the final product:

     

Oil on artboard. 760 x 500mm.

Sunshine Flowers!

These two semi-abstract flower paintings were an experiment and has been pure fun to paint. They have also led to other creative endeavours. They both have a special brightness, due to bright, flat colour applied impasto over pre-applied texture. 

Bright Flowers in a Bright Pot

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

400 x 400 x 15mm

(SOLD)

 

Yellow Daisies in an African Pot

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

400 x 400 x 15mm

(SOLD)

Nguni 28 & 29 - the series continues...

I have completed the third in a set of three square paintings of Nguni:

Oil on Board, 290 x 290mm

And here is the first in a set of two:

Oil on Stretched Canvas; 400 x 300mm

For prices or availability, contact me at ewade@absamail.co.za 

A Fresh Approach

As part of my "Fun Flower" project, the purpose of which is to loosen up, I reworked a flower still life that I did a while ago, and put down because I was not happy with the result. I now abandoned the preconceived frame of mind I had at the time and had a lot of FUN! Here it is:

Acrylic on Mountboard, 175x270mm

The digital image doesn't do justice to the bright, jewel-likeness of the colours in real life. The dark areas are also not black, but rich, dark greens and reds.

During our last visit at the beach I managed to make a small watercolour sketch of the waves. I was especially fascinated with the near-translucent jade colour of the breaking waves:

    

Watercolour on Cartridge; 130x90mm

Having loosened up a bit with the "fun" flowers, I decided to attempt another seascape. (Haven't done one for about two years.) It turned out to be one of those paintings that just about paints itself. Just flowed spontaneously.   I might do some more...  

Acrylic on Mountboard; 280x185mm

SOLD

More Nguni watercolours

I have painted these two Ngunis in acrylic on canvas already, but decided to do them in watercolour in neutral colours. They measure 175 x 125 each. I like the one (coming towards you) so much, that I might do it yet AGAIN! - this time in oil, probably on a larger scale. I'm still looking for another friend for it; I like making paintings in pairs. 

SOLD

SOLD

Flower Still Lifes FRAMED!

I received some paintings back from the framer today - quite exciting! So, here are the flower still lifes - framed!

And here is a basket of roses that I painted some time ago - framed.

(Oil on board, 285 x 280)

SOLD 

Still Life with Flowers - Fun with colours

This is a fun project, which is still underway, but which has produced some artworks, and more are underway... My inspiration came from sketches that I did years ago - at school - probably in the Science Class(!) - to be precise!

I found them recently, scanned them in, and altered them digitally, which produced pictures like this:

From that, I started doing acrylics. Quite a number of them didn't produce the results that I anticipated. I am still busy with the process, but here are two that I am going to frame so long:

Fun Flower Studies I & II

Medium: Acrylic on Berkshire Mountboard

Size: 170x 125 mm