Alliance Francaise de Pretoria

I want to share some stunning paintings I saw today. They are by the artist, Loeritha Saayman and can be seen at the Alliance Francaise de Pretoria. They regularly have exhibitions and host music evenings. Go to their site for more info http://www.alliance.org.za/-Pretoria

I got such inspiration from these paintings. They are just lovely.

White on Stripes

I finished my second "chair" painting this morning. It is just wonderfull to sit outside in the sun, feeling the coming of spring, listening to the birds and doing what I love, painting.

White on Stripes
Original oil on masonite
30 x 30 cm (11x11")

Duncan Yard

Duncan Yard in Pretoria (South Africa) is a wonderfull, arty place to explore. It has the feel of a small village with small shops tucked into every nook and cranny. There is the well known Pappa's Restaurant to eat, interior shops, a garden shop and an exciting small gallery.

The gallery, The Gallery @ Duncan Yard http://stof.co.za/gallery/ showcases upcoming artist's work. As the gallery is tiny, most of the work is quite small but then it is priced very reasonably. For the month of August there is a group exhibition of woman artists. You can also find some of my paintings here.

If you are looking for something new and different, this is the place to go.

Duncan Yard is on the corner of Duncan and Prospect Street in Hatfield, Pretoria.

Chair 1

This is the first painting in a series I am doing with chairs as the theme. There are so many to choose from and I can play around with colours and textures. I realy enjoyed painting this one and am looking forward to the next.

Chair 1

Original oil on board 30x30cm (12x12")

Nguni painting

I have done a few Nguni's over the last few months and never get tired of painting them. The colours one can use changes with every one. Some are darker and others like this one light and airy. Love painting the calves as well, I don't think cows should be alone in the field, it is just to sad and lonely.

Nguni 8Original oil on board 12"x12" (30cmx30cm)

Prints 15cmx15cm

Shoe Painting

This is another damask shoe painting. I love the damask pattern on the wall, it gives a great design element to the painting. I am busy with another one in a series of 3. Enjoy the weekend.

Black Damask 2
Original Oil on Board 30cmx30cm
Prints15x15cm
SOLD

Thursday Group

Today we did another painting with a coloured background. Today black. It is very satisfying painting on a black canvas as it picks up shadows and colour beautifully. It is quite tricky though to keep track of what to leave black. A great exercize for thinking about colour, shape and shade. As always everyone worked from the same picture but every painting is totally different. Enjoy.

First the darkest flesh colours are applied, working towards the lightest. Colours used are crimson, yello ocre, sap green, cad red and white. It is important to not touch the darkest shadows and leave them black.

The hat is painted in the same manner using raw umber, white and yellow ocre in different hues.

The jacket is painted using raw umber, white and c blue. Care is taken once again to not paint away the shaded areas as this creates great atmosphere and depth. Now colours can be blended to create a more uniform look and the background is added.

My painting

Alet's painting

Anso's painting

Ronel's painting

Vivia's painting

Nguni Paintings

Here are 2 more Nguni paintins I finished today for Art in the Park tomorrow. Hope to have a good day.

Nguni6
Original oil on board

Nguni7
Original oil on board

Winter in Cape Town

Here are some photos of our recent holiday in Cape Town. Even though it is the rainy season it is still one of the most beautifull cities in the world.

The view from Bloubergstrand is always one of those postcard pictures. Every day when you wake up the mountain looks different.

The cosy Simons Town where we went to see the penguins.

These colourfull cabins are synonimous with Muizenberg beach.

Waiting at the station in Kalkbay for a train to Muizenberg. Stunning scenery along the way!

Signal Hill at sunset looking down over seapoint.

Thursday Group

End of the month again, meaning we all do our own projects at class. With the winter school holidays that started last week not everyone was there today. So here are a few I found interesting. We are going to Cape Town for 10 days, I will post some photos when we are back.

Alet's pretty flowers

Hantie's lovely Cape street scene

Stella's amazing chickens

My shoes

Happy holidays to all!

Shoe paintings

Today is the turn of my shoe paintings. I love painting shoes, they come in lovely shapes and colours. Besides, give me one woman who doesn't adore shoes...

Black Damask
Original oil on board

SOLD

Black on stripes
Original oil on board
SOLD

Doc Martins
Original oil on board
SOLD

Denim Slingbacks
Original oil on board
SOLD

Red shoes
Original oil on board
SOLD

Nguni Paintings

Today I am posting a collection of Nguni paintings I have been doing over the past 2 months. I realy enjoy painting them. Will be doing some more in the next few months.

SOLD

SOLD

Thursday Group

This past Thursday was a real challenge for all of us. Painting faces are definately not easy and is something that needs to be practiced a lot. What made this class such fun was that we did a painting of a small boy. Children's faces have a lot of character and one can use more bold colours. Although we all did the same painting, once again they are all quite different, bringing out the artist's personality and paint tecnique. Hope you enjoy them to.

Nick's painting

Vivia's painting

Alet's painting

Anso's painting

My painting

Thursday Group

Sorry to all my Thursday Group ladies and one lucky gentleman. I have been neglegting to update this blog. Well, here goes.

Two weeks ago we did some botanical paintings. This was a class al enjoyed very much. It involved some craft and paint abilities.

First the canvas was primed in a dark blue with 2 white top coats. Once the paint dried, we sanded some areas to make it seem antique. Then stencils and filler was used to create a decorative 3d effect. The flowers were painted and a light green wash was used to create an old feeling. I love these paintings, they have a real old world charm.

Nick's painting

Ronel's painting

Anso's painting

Vivia's painting

My painting

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