On a Bike

On a Bike
420mm x 320mm
Oil on Masonite
Click here To Bid

The painting was done in the studio almost entirely from imagination.

The inspiration for this painting cam from seeing an old man on a bike smoking a cigarette, my imagination ran away with me and I started picturing an old man in a suit, early morning, riding through the mist with his bike rack laded… this painting was the result of that mental image.

There was a simplicity about the subject and it was pure enjoyment creating this work, I love the way it painted… I think that’s the definition of a great painter; someone who can create a fantastic painting every time; at the moment it’s a bit of hit and miss for me.

Different Strokes - Beach Scene

Different Strokes - Beach Girl
105mm x 145mm Oil on Acrylic Paper

This is another challenge from 'Different Strokes from Different Folks' (interpretation of other artists)

Karin's challenge is simple - one photo, many interpretations; this is mine. Again painted with a alla pima feeling and in under an hour... it's simple, it lacks finesse and it's simply an exercise in putting paint on the canvas.

I added this painting to my 'for sale' list after taking note of how many people liked it - I'm pleasantly surprised at the attention it's received!

If you'd like to buy one of my other paintings: How to buy a painting

The queen of the street

I posted this one a little while back, last week it went on auction at Bid or Buy and it caused a bit of a stir... there was more activity on this posting than many of the others and the bidding was fierce (well by my standards anyway - Lucian Freud would laugh out loud at me calling it fierce)

This auction has made me very happy, it is a huge motivator to receive so much positive attention.

Publish Post

SOLD

Another painting also received it's fair share of attention this week - Nude on a Persian carpet. It's been sold and unfortunately I am not able to ship it because I'm on holiday... (I'm very embarrassed about that)

One viewer left a message on the Persian Carpet post - she said "...your work is fantastic!" - It is so nice to get flattering message like this!

Winter Buffalo

Winter Buffalo

150mm x 180mm

Click here to Bid

I snapped this group of buffalo while visiting in Pretoria last year (I forget the park’s name; maybe someone can remind me? It's en route to The Cradle of Man.)

As we were leaving in the late afternoon we stumbled upon this small herd of buffalo settling in for the night. The sun was low on the horizon so the grass was ablaze with golden light. The Highveld has a special light to it during the winter, its crisp… if light can be described that way.

This is a studio produce work - oil on Masonite and is part of my 'postcards' series. This is the first wild life painting in the series. I have a small stock pile of wild life photos from which I intend creating more a broader gallery of African animal paintings. Look forward to seeing cheetah, giraffe, wildebeest and other African wildlife in the near future.

The other 'postcards' currently on sale are street and urban scenes from in and around Cape Town

Reclining model on a Persian Carpet

This is one of those paintings that I just fell in love with! (which seems a bit egotistical since it's my own painting)

It was a simple life study that works. The brush strokes are bolder than my normal style and the detail is in the suggested shape.

The model is a pleasure to work with; not only is she beautiful, but she's also got a natural understanding of what the artist expects of a model.

Reclining Nude on a Persian Carpet
410mm x 300mm
SOLD

see a bigger image at my figures site

Junk food Mall

This is a companion piece to the Lady on the street the two photos were taken about twenty meters from each other.

For it's size it's too complicated and I'll be more careful in the future, but this one works - it was late afternoon and this group were just resting, organizing rowdy shopping bags, chatting, smoking, eating...

It's not really a mall in the true sense; its a strip of open air shops that specialize in Halal food, and in Cape Town talk that means: high cholesterol.

Junk food Mall
Click here to purchase

Chillies

This was a small warm up painting.



These Jalapenos are the first off my bush this year; I enjoyed painting them... then I enjoyed eating them (sounds cannibalistic!)

Matroosberg - the painting

This is the back side of the row of cottages out at the Matroosberg and is the painting based on the sketch from the previous post.

The late afternoon sun set behind blue gum trees and cottages, there was a distinct variation in tones - from the dark blue tones in the shadows to the glowing light generously sprayed over of the fynbos. As the light dipped towards the horizon colours emerged from the foliage that I'd not noticed before... it became an enchanted wonderland of shape and colour.

An icy wind blew up a few minutes after I finished the sketch, that night the wind howled and the temperature plummeted - November is normally blisteringly hot, but not on the night of this sketch.

Late Afternoon at Matroosberg

600mm x 340mm Oil on Masonite
Click here to bid

Sketch book - Matroosberg

We've got a little cottage out in the mountains and we don't go there often enough... I digress; this sketch was done on a trip out there late last year.
I had my box with me and I had the intention of painting, but it was too windy - the easel would have blown away! Instead I huddled up and did this sketch and took a few pictures with my cellphone to get an idea of the colours.

Back at home I did a painting of the scene - I'll post that soon, in the meantime here's the page from my sketch book:

Matroosberg cottages - 2008
Felt tipped pen on Paper

Sketch book - 11/02/2009

This man sat down opposite me, loosened his tie, snuggled into the corner and then fell asleep.

My 'real job' has been keeping me up at night (IT batch jobs) so I felt like he looked - in desperate need of sleep.

I did a quick sketch of him instead of sleeping - about 5 to 8 minutes.

Pen on paper