Work in progress

My daughter, Rhiannon, is an inspiration to me... thats why I chose to paint this picture of her. She is always so happy and loves the outdoors. She was standing on the rocks, in the middle of the river, at the Karkloof Falls, soaking up the sun, the sounds of the rushing water and the smells of a special picnic outing with Oupa and Ouma from Zimbabwe. She was very much in the moment, absorbing the whole experience to the fullest... which this piece captures. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all stop and appreciate the moment in this way, more often and in such a child like manner!

Exhibition: Susan Langeveldt Gallery Update

Just a reminder about the exhibition in Pretoria. If you are in the area please try and get along to the opening on the 11th of November or alternatively you can visit the gallery any time between the 11th November and the 15th December. Please feel free to share this with your facebook friends; you never know who may have friends in the vicinity and we would love to have them visit the gallery at some stage.

This Piece is now complete. At 1000 x 700 it is by far the largest work I have completed so far. In all it took the best part of 3 weeks to complete working an average of 2- 3 hrs a day, 5 days a week. Fortunately I devised some techniques for doing the grass which helped to make a daunting task easier. I score / indent the paper with the blunt end of a small paintbrush which gives the grass it's texture. After that I run a 2b pencil over the surface of the paper followed by a 9b for the darker areas. Whew!! Now for framing. 

Natures Jungle Gym

This piece is probably my most ambitious undertaking so far owing mainly to its size (1000mm x 700mm). My aim is to have at least this and one other of a similar size ready to add to the current collection for the Pretoria opening in a months time. Progress is slow as I still have a day job (although that will be changing soon - Yay!!) In the mean time I would like to share some insights into this piece of work.

While out and about with the kids one afternoon we came accross this wonderful fallen tree which made an awesome natural jungle gym for the kids. Had we not needed to get home they could easily have spent an entire afternoon exploring this natural structure. It makes for wonderful (and daunting) subject matter as there are incredible contrasts of light and texture in the scene which allow me the chance to get stuck in with my 9B solid graphite. 

The contrasting textures are challenging; from bark to wood to plastic but eventually one works out a method for each one. Currently I have spent approximately 20 hours on this piece. I estimate that I am probably at the half way mark. VR