A gift of grey and a splash of yellow 🌻

Every gardener worth their salt knows the value of grey foliage plants in the garden. I am continuously on the look out for interesting grey plants, preferably indigenous. Imagine my delight then when spotting some gorgeous grey edging plants in a new gardening friends flower beds. At first glance I thought they were Stachys byzantine …

Misty mornings and a Malachite sunbird

A soggy start to the week whist good for the garden, made me feel as though I was living in a literal cloud. Not to want to sound ungrateful as one should always be thankful for rain, I do miss the 'olden days' of hot Summer days topped off with glorious afternoon thunder storms. Our …

A busy bustling week..

Not much time for a well thought out blog post this week as tomorrow is my first Christmas market entry. So excited, so nervous, so busy!I thought I'd share the highlights of my week. Patch and I have been going for earlier trots to give me more painting time and miss the heat of the …

The Cape Robin Chat

Cape robin chat in the Cherry tree. Acrylic onto board 13x23cm "Song filled, perky, shy, yet curious" is how SANBI aptly describes this well loved South African bird. How could one not but love this pretty and cheerful little chap. The Cape robin chat is well adapted to living with humans and is a regular …

Changing gears

As I made my way up the first steep section of my run this morning, I found myself slowing down and shifting into 'granny gear' - something I have to do more and more often these days as I inch my way slowly and steadily to the top. I'm calling this new found gait the …

Feeling ‘scattered’

Being a 'Jill of all trades and master of none' has its pros and cons. On the one hand being drawn to all sorts of things and having lots of hobbies is a much more interesting way of living. I know that my varied interests have all fed my creativity, by the same token my …

Podcasts and scribbles

Podcasts are truly one of the happiest and most rewarding things I have ever discovered in my adult life. They have not only been a lovely entertaining way to pass the time whilst putting in painting hours in my studio - they really can be a wealth of useful and interesting information. I listen to …

Synchronicity and cake domes

Synchronicity - "The occurrence of meaningful coincidences that seem to have no cause " I have a much treasured and beautifully crafted solid glass cake dome or 'kloche' as its correctly called. Much treasured by me for its pleasing aesthetics, but also (my family would argue only) because come the weekend, birthdays, special occasions or …

Of months and birds

Nine months ago I started a painting project - admittedly a rather ambitious one. Nine months ago I also started a new life. I knew that this change would come with the normal stress and upheaval that can naturally only be expected from such a decision. I gave up hospitality for good, leaving the guest …

A happy find

On one of my weekend mountain explores recently I stumbled upon a bulb lying in the Winter grass. I picked it up for closer inspection. The soil seemed to be mostly cleaned off and the bulb itself was intact. A few dried leaves and scaly sheaths were still clinging to it. A puzzle. I do …