Linda Howe Ely

When I set up a still life, I try to use classic kitchen items. I have found that I have some favourites that I have painted a few times.

One is a porcelain jug which belonged to my grandmother. It says “CTC Coffee” on it. I believe it stands for “Cape to Cairo”. I like it because it has a simple but elegant shape.

This is another white jug, enamel this time. It has a nice simple shape and I have painted it a few times. The cloth is also a favourite which belonged to my mother and has happy memories of family dinners.

I love enamel and have quite a collection. A lot of the pieces are turquoise, like the bowl below. They belonged to my mother and that was her favourite colour. It’s also a lovely colour to paint.

The painting below has another classic white jug in it, with a red tin given to me by my niece. The cloth is a favourite which I love painting. I bought a pair of them at a white elephant sale.

The Constantiaberg Art Society held a members exhibition at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in January. During the show, on Saturday 19 January, members painted near the exhibition hall and promoted the Society and exhibition.

All participating artists were invited and six took part. Jeremy Day was first to arrive and set to work on some paintings of jars of sweets in his detailed realist style. You can see his finished works at http://www.artistjeremyday.com/

Next to arrive was Karin Davel, who “draws” with a sewing machine! She sat next to Jeremy and was soon busy sewing a portrait of him.

Andrew Mogatla set up his easel across the way and painted the Dylan Lewis cheetah sculpture below the steps in his distinctive style. Read more about him here https://www.growcreativesolutions.com/andrew-mokgatla

Belinda Basson http://belindabasson.blogspot.com/ and Elsa-Marie Fourie sat on a bench outside the hall with their easels and painted the view from there.

I sat near Andrew and sketched Castle Rocks and the tea room and garden below.

Visitors to the garden came and chatted to the artists and went to look at the exhibition inside. We all enjoyed the day. Thanks to Kirstenbosch for letting us do this; it was fun!

I was lucky enough to be invited on another hiking trip to the Cedarberg last month. We went back to the remote area near the village of Heuningvlei. There was a huge difference compared to last year’s trip in March when it was very dry. This time the landscape seemed much more alive as the streams were running strongly and there were plenty of flowers about.

Pool at Boontkjieskloof

From the Heuningvlei hut we climbed Middle Krakadouw and then went on to the Boontjieskloof hut.

Flowers next to the path

We had quite a relaxed time and I managed to do two sketches.

Sketch of Boontjieskloof Hut

Our last night was spent at the backpackers lodge at Heuningvlei where we enjoyed the hot showers and comfortable beds. Our dinner was prepared by ladies from the Heuningvlei community. It’s a picturesque old mission village and most of the houses have thatched roofs.

House at Heuningvlei

I took a lot of photos of the village in the evening and early morning.

Morning in Heuningvlei

After leaving the West country (see previous post) I went to spend a couple of nights with friends in a village in Herefordshire.

I did a sketch of the house before I left.

On the way back from Herefordshire I spent the afternoon in Worcester. While I was there, did a couple of small (about 8 x 8 cm) sketches in my sketchpack.

Path on the bank of the Severn, Worcester

Door, Worcester Cathedral

The next stop on the itinerary was Woodbridge in Suffolk, situated on the river Deben about 8 miles from the coast. I sat on a bench one morning when the tide was out and sketched the boats with the Tide Mill in the background.

The Tide Mill on the River Deben, Woodbridge, Suffolk.

The next evening we went to the Star Inn in Wenhaston and I just had time for a quick sketch before we went inside for our dinner.

The Star Inn, Wenhaston, Suffolk.

I spent the last week in Gloucestershire and sketched the Market Hall, in Chipping Campden. Built in 1627, it was being repaired and there was some plastic sheeting on the roof!

The Market Hall, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.

In Mickleton I spent a happy hour sitting on the edge of a grave, sketching the church of St Lawrence.The atmosphere was very English accompanied by the calls of rooks.

The Church of St Lawrence, Mickleton, Gloucestershire.

My final sketch was a portrait of my sister’s dog, Rufus, who posed very well!

Rufus