I have moved my blog to my gallery site ..read more

Work is well underway on the watercolours for the 2022 Cape Watercolour Calendar.  The scope for the design is scenes in the Helderberg Basin.  Here is a candidate painting from our selection for Radloff Park: The stump at Norman’s Rapid – swept away as the river rose in 2020 This year I am working with PATCH Helderberg Child Abuse Centre to create the calendar.  The work they do is so very important.  Child abuse is a heartbreaking issue and PATCH are actively dealing with situations and supporting victims. Take a look at the PATCH website to find out more. As we work on ..read more

Tools are beautiful Something about design for function makes the result attractive. And rendering designed materials in watercolour can create magic. Aircraft design requires no description and train spotting is a thing. Boats and the supporting technology (and characters) are certainly a worthy subject for a watercolour study. When I worked on the mine I used to love having to go to the open pit to watch the huge dozers, shovels and trucks. Functional design on a mega scale. Where would we be without engineers? This posting focusses on the beauty of the functional mundane. Plumbing Since tak ..read more

We have a mountain in the middle of our town. And long ago, some far thinking people decided to reserve some land up the slope of the mountain to provide access to this slice of wild beauty. The view from The Duck Pond Many many times I have sat at the Duck Pond to try to make sense of our beautiful mountain that changes every time I look up from a brush-stroke. And here is a painting with the boardwalk the klonks its way around the Duck Pond Paintings in the Gorge Just to the East of West Peak there is a ravine filled with beautiful trees. There is a spring in the gorge ..read more

Audacia Farm is a great venue for Route 44 Market.  People would come from all over Cape Town for food, crafts and entertainment on Saturday’s and Sundays.  The vendors did good business.   And to add to the fun, Chris and Torrin Visser established a Parkrun on the farm.  Chris and Torrin – a quick sketch The route of the run wound 5 kms through vineyards, up a hill under some Spanish pines and down through a ploughed field.  It was all so pretty. Aura and I would sometimes go out for the run. And when Sinead was at home she would join us. One morning I sat near t ..read more

Week 4 2021 I have been feeling a little under the weather this week. And I have had quite a bit of admin work. Therefore I have not been out and about as much as I would have liked. These have been posted by the day on my Instagram Feed – https://www.instagram.com/sjqwatercolour/ 15 January 2021 – Kei Apples On this day I hiked up to the gorge in Helderberg Reserve to fill up my water bottles with the sparkling, sweet elixir from the spring in the forest there. It was hot and I enjoyed my time in the cool shade next to the little stream. The cicadas were out in volume. It was idyllic. All ..read more

Wild peak on our doorstep Helderberg mountain is iconic to anyone who has lived in the basin for some time. The peaks are crests rather than domes so the view of the mountain changes quickly as you traverse the base. Some far thinking person had the foresight to establish a nature reserve on the slopes of Helderberg mountain. Therefore we have access to a memory of the way this land was long ago. I have been walking in the Helderberg Reserve for as long as we have lived in Somerset West and recently have been sitting often to paint there. There is a small dam behind the coffee shop in the Held ..read more

Tshwane is the gateway to the bushveld Over the last few years my consulting business has taken up to Tshwane quite often. This is always interesting as I went to high school there – back in ‘die ou dae’ when it was called ‘Pretoria’ – ‘Before the Rindepest’ as they say around there. My visits have always been interesting. I find the work I do with teams very rewarding – but also quite draining. Therefore I take whatever time I can to enjoy some of the bushveld up there. Here are some of the paintings I have completed up there. Magnolia Dell Magnolia Dell holds strong memories for me. For alth ..read more

Week 2 2021 This is the work I completed in the second week of the year. I took a day to complete a proposal for a consulting project. This was exhausting. At the end of the day, all I could accomplish is the first lemon of the week. 08 January 2021 – Brambles I took a walk up the Watsonia Trail in Helderberg Reserve. When I got to the stream I decided not to paint the dramatic view of Helderberg but to sit in the sun and paint the brambles where the stream enters the bush on the side of the road. As usual I 09 January 2021 – Rocket Stove Here is my rocket stove. I fill the fuel bottle ..read more

Week 2 2021 I have been feeling a little under the weather this week. And I have had quite a bit of admin work. Therefore I have not been out and about as much as I would have liked. 15 January 2021 – Kei Apples A fruit day. Kei Apple from trimming my hedge. 16 January 2021 – Mining Lamp This is a mining lamp used in the mines in Cambria. It was a wedding gift from Prof Colin Allen who supervised me through my Masters in Material Science. 17 January 2021 – The Awl for All Long ago in my motorcycle days I made a leather jacket and leather boots for myself. I bought leather from Woodh ..read more