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

Nguni 26 & 27 in oils

Here are the same two Ngunis in oil:

Nguni 26

Nguni 27

Medium: Oil on Masonite

Size: 290 x 290 mm

Currently unframed.

Nguni Watercolours - Square Format

We found these Ngunis near Phobane Lake (Goedertrouw Dam) one day. A small herd. I decided to use a square format for a change, and I really enjoyed doing them.

Nguni 26 & 27

Medium: Watercolour

Size: 170 x 170 mm

They are also being framed and will be for sale.

Nguni Watercolours

I love painting Ngunis in pairs. People also like to hang this size painting in groups of three to six, so I keep painting! I also often do the same Nguni in both watercolour and in acrylic/oil. I have done these two from pictures that I took a while ago of a sizable herd near Heatonville.

Nguni 24 & 25 (Watercolour)

Medium: watercolour

Size: 170 x 125 mm

I am having them framed. Will try and add a picture of them framed, once done. They are meant to be displayed at the Hospice Family Fair at Canefields, Empangeni, in beginning October, but they are for sale. Contact me at ewade@absamail.co.za for prices and availability.

Beautiful black-and-white Ngunis

We came accross a beautiful herd of mostly black-and-white Nguni the other day and I couldn't wait to paint them. Here are the first two - I thought the warm background really brought out the black-and-white of their skin patterns.

Nguni 22

Nguni Painting

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

305 x 230 x15 mm

Nguni 23

Nguni Painting

Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

230 x 305 x 15 mm

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

Nguni 21

NGUNI PAINTING

Oil on stretched Canvas

355 x 250 15 mm

R820

(excluding postage)

Nguni 20

NGUNI PAINTING

Oil on stretched Canvas

355 x 250 x 15mm

R820.00

SOLD

NAMIBIAN PAINTINGS

I grew up in Namibia and lived there till I was seventeen. I love the wide open spaces of the Namib, where you can breathe, where the desert silence becomes loud in your ears. I still paint Namibian scenes from time to time.

I made these paintings of the very special weather-worn Welvitzia plants after I visited Namibia in 2001.

They are now available for a special price for a period of time.

Welvitzia Mirabilis

Dimensions: 250 x 160mm

Medium: Watercolour

SPECIAL PRICE: R380, including the mountings. (unframed)

(Postage excluded.)

Welvitzia Patterns

Dimensions: 250 x 160 mm

Medium: Watercolour

SPECIAL PRICE: R380, including mountings. (unframed)

(Postage excluded)

For further information, please contact me @ ewade@absamail.co.za

White Roses, Gold & Copper

Textures in gold and coppery colours, soft roses and bright white light contrast to create interest in these paintings done in collage & mixed media on stretched canvas. 225 x 305 mm each. Available from IMBIZO art Gallery, Lifestyle Centre, Ballito. (Click on image to enlarge.) Gold coloured paint, which isn't always visible as such on digital images, gives a lustre to the paintings in certain areas.

Ngunis in warm African landscape

The Nguni, being an indigenous cattle breed of Southern Africa, have found their way into African art, probably because of the important role they played in the cultures of the African peoples, as well as their beautiful and varied coloured skin patterns and the poetic names that accompanied these patterns, for example, in the Zulu Language. They also present a variety of horn shapes.



The bright colours of sunny, warm Africa combine with the variety of earthy tones of the Nguni skin patterns to make this a unique image of Africa. Oil on stretched canvas. 800 x 600 mm.

Contact me at: ewade@absamail.co.za

to check on availability or price.

Nguni Skin Patterns

I love Nguni Skin patterns and I love patchwork. I have combined the two in this set of three oil paintings, which can be viewed at IMBIZO gallery at the Ballito Lifestyle Centre. (Oil on stretched canvas; 500x 405 mm each)

Rooster & Hen

I found this rooster and hen near Pondweni in Northern Natal. I may add some more feathers to the flock in the not too distant future. :-) These two are temporarily going to roost at Lulu's Coffee Shop in Richmond or at The Blue Pumpkin at The Byrne. The Rooster measures 150x200mm and the Hen 180x130mm. (Oil on stretched canvas)

Textures & Delft Triptich II

Some more mixed media paintings (on canvas) with texture and Delft - they will shortly be available from Lulu's Coffee Shop in Richmond (Natal), or from The Blue Pumpkin in They Byrne. They measure205 x 505 x 35mm each and are done in mixed media on boxed canvas.

Trying out Textures

I have had lots of fun exloring textures, using collage and mixed media. In these three I have contrasted the courser textures with fine Delft porcelain.

Collage and mixed media on board. Unframed. 230 x 590 mm each.

Birds of (our own) Paradise

Our town in Zululand, Eshowe, is a bird watchers' paradise, and I started off this year by completing a series of nine bird watercolours for a local 4-star B&B, called "Birds of Paradise". Hugh Chittenden, reknowned bird photographer (currently involved with revising the Robberts' Birds of Southern Africa), has kindly let me use some of his photographs as references.
I have included a picture of the entire collection, featuring the Purple Crested Turaco, Woolly Necked Stork, Speckled Mousebird, Crowned Hornbill, Southern Ground Hornbills, Trumpeter Hornbill, Burchell's Coucal, Nerina Trogons and Green Pigeon. The Purple Crested Turaco, Woolly Necked Stork and Crowned Hornbills frequent our garden on a daily basis and the Trumpeters come every afternoon for their last snack of pawpaw flowers in the tree by the kitchen before flying off to their night-time roost.

Each of the pictures measure 26 x 36cm. Although I've also included a picture of the Ground Hornbill's face (with those big eye lashes), the digital images do not do justice to the detail on the real paintings.

To watch a slide show of the individual bird paintings, go to: http://www.picasaweb.google.com/ernaspace/birds

Magazine Article

A local (area-) newspaper, which normally includes a profile article about a local personality in the GETit magazine that comes with the newspaper once a month, has recently chosen to do an article about me. I also landed on the front page!

If you click on the image below, it will enlarge enough to read: