New Dimensions

  Yesterday was Sunday and we were relaxing at home. I decided to do a quick sketch and paint it with watercolour paint. I didn't want to create a masterpiece or do something complex. I chose a picture on Pinterest because it looked easy to practise with. I also didn't want to use expensive paper either. The picture above is the result of my efforts. I first did the sketch in pencil and then added the blue and grey watercolour paint. Since it was just a little exercise I grabbed my Faber-Castell paints and added the colours. As I said, the aim was to practise and not to create a wonderful painting. I still get satisfaction from doing things like that. I have just watched a YouTube video on Atomic Habits by James Clear. Near the end he said that if you want to become a writer, you must not just write a book. That does not make you a writer. If you want to become a writer, you must write! Therefore, if you want to become a painter/artist, you must paint. You need to do that often

  Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints always intrigued me. When I started my watercolor painting journey I had never heard that name. That was because I just jumped in and bought the wrong paints that caught my eye. Where I live we only have PNA stationery and art supply shops. I visited one and looked for the most impressive looking box of paints and purchased acrylic paints instead of watercolor paints. When I looked on YouTube for something to get started I then realised that I should be trying watercolors to paint something I saw there. The people presenting their tutorials were forever mentioning the best brands and Daniel Smith was usually mentioned. When I visited the PNA again, they did not have that brand in stock - only oil paints. Since I heard them usually talking about Daniel Smith watercolors, I decided to search for it online. There I discovered that Artsavingsclub stocked what I was looking for. Unfortunately, by then I had invested in Mont Marte watercolors. That was not a

  One day I watched a video where a gifted artist sketched a building and used alcohol markers to colour the sketch in. There was no messing around with water and paints and the paper did not buckle because no water was used. I thought that it would be wonderful if I could do the same. I proceeded to buy some alcohol markers to experiment with. That was where I learned that it was much harder than I thought. For one thing I found it difficult to avoid making marks when I coloured in with my new markers without creating lines when I moved them back and forth on the paper. It looked aweful. Then I also saw that my marker ink was far too bright on the paper. Another thing that I disliked was that ther ink bled right through the paper to the other side. All my efforts looked far worse than my watercolour paintings. I hated them. To find the right markers and paper became an obsession but no matter what I bought I could not get satisfaction. I was about to give up when I recently decided to

  There are times when you want to doodle but you want it to look like something. Seated on a Lazy Boy chair is not the best way to draw and create art. However, I could not wait to do it properly and I was just feeling like practicing with my many markers which I found rather difficult to master. The best way to create is to just create no matter what the result looks like. After all, we all need some practice. So, I just drew something very basic to colour in. It is an opportunity to get away from the large computer where I design websites or create eBooks. Painting or art with markers is my way of escaping from my usual work on a computer. It is my free time. So, the little house I made with alcohol markers my fit in a children's book since it looks so basic and plein but when I practice it doesn't matter to me what it looks like as long as I have some small creative time. Thanks for reading.

  French Toast for Mom happened on May 12th 2024. It was a beautiful sunny day when we drove to the place in Hartebeespoort which is located next to some mountains with a huge dam on one side. It has always been a favourite recreation area since the 1970s (for me anyway). We arrived early in the morning and walked around the place while waiting for our son to park his car. During that time we took a few photographs in front of some French-looking displays. Once our son parked the car and joined us, we entered the venue area and found a table with an umbrella where we could order some breakfast. Since it was Mother's Day all the focus was on Maggie to make the day special for her. Once breakfast arrived, Maggie started enjoying the meal. Due to unforseen circumstances the platform where I posted the link to my book is not performing correctly and I have to look for an alternative method to advertise and sell my book. I apologize for the delay and inconvenience.

  Gardening is a most rewarding endeavour. When you plant a herb or a flower or a vegetable, you are creating a living thing that grows. You have to take special care of it to ensure that the plant survives, gets sufficient water, sunshine, and plant food to enable it to thrive. If you have done your job well and are diligent, you will reap a reward and receive what the plant produces - flowers, herbs, or vegetables. We have successfully grown all sorts of fruit, vegetables, and herbs which we picked just before eating. That way we get the freshest fruits that keep us healthy. I am in the process of painting the picture above with watercolours. The same applies to life! Work is therefore necessary and is a good thing.

     Inspired by the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles the Hurly Hills Private Care Hotel was created. Located in Hurlyvale in Edenvale this modern, spacious private care hotel was built with a Hollywood retro look. From concept to finished product, the buildings and furnishings started to take on a movie scene appearance with large pictures of actors as part of the décor. This was never overdone. Just a hint of Hollywood here and there, enough to give the place that special nostalgic feel. When it comes to activities for the residents they are not compelled to participate. They are, however, encouraged to take part in group activities. There are games like Sunset Boulevard Chess, Hollywood Hills Bridge, Las Vegas Meccano Building, and Puzzle Building activities. There are many more fun activities. Recently, they had a special birthday party celebration for one of the senior residents. All the staff joined the fun and it was a jolly occasion to the delight of the birthday boy. It just

 I love Pinterest because that is where I find inspiration from very talented people. It's a place where everyone shares their work. Since I am still learning how to create art I feel very humble being in the presence of others with amazing talent. I salute you all. The topic of today's blog post is sketchbook art. Since this is my very first piece I am submitting it not as a work of art as such but an exercise that I performed to see if I could produce a double page spread item and paint it with watercolours. I primarily just wanted to see whether or not the paint would show on the other side of the paper. One thing you have to understand is that we can look at what other people are doing but only through trial and error will we learn what works and how they created their work of art and what materials they used. That sounds simple but in reality it is not simple at all. I go through a whole learning process trying to emulate other artists. Sometimes I succeed when I make the

 When I was very young and still in primary school we lived in a small mining town in the northern Cape. Once a week we used to go to the club and attend classes in different sports. On one of those evenings, I walked into the large hall and was amazed to see that there were karate classes on offer. I immediately enrolled. First on the agenda the instructor started teaching us some basic moves which he called katas. From there on it was a regular thing, katas, and more katas. It was quite enjoyable, and I was getting quite good at it. I can’t remember what happened but after a while those classes stopped.  It was some time after that that I went to the movies and saw how the guys were using karate to defend themselves. There were the Karate Kid, Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon by Jackie Chan, and Enter the Dragon by Bruce Lee. Who could forget seeing Chuck Norris?  Yesterday, I was browsing You Tube and noticed a video about Chuck Norris who was commenting on Bruce Lee’s death. Chuck was a

This majestic white spider lily flower was photographed by me on 10 February 2021. I believe that it was still towards the end of  the COVID 19 lockdown period. No hidden dangers. It's pure. It is exactly as beautiful as it is. Nothing false about it. Maybe that's why good women love flowers. When you give them with a good heart they tell a story of honesty. Flowers are pure and beautiful. So you are giving something pure and beautiful - a perfect gift. Enjoy this rare sight.

 Today is the day after Good Friday. Yesterday I enjoyed a fabulous Good Friday. My wife and I went to church and were treated to an excellent service after which we went to check out what's happening at our local shopping centre because the Pick n Pay had suddenly closed forcing us to drive further to other shops to buy our bread, milk, and groceries - very inconvenient. Fortunately, we were told that a Checkers is soon opening. We then went home but before we were there we decided to go to Evergreens shop to buy cake to enjoy with our tea. As we were about to enter the premises but found that it was locked with security guards patrolling the place. We had to leave feeling disappointed and wondering what's going on in our country. Massive shops and shopping groups just closing or not being open for business as usual! Very odd! In the meantime I had photographed some flowers in our garden and a yellow one that was growing in front of the main gate. When we arrived home I contin

 About a year ago I was faced with a problem. My children and grandchildren were showing off their prowess in drawing and painting on a WhatsApp group where all our family members were connected. All I could put up on the group were photographs that I had taken which I thought were showing off that I was a bit creative. But they kept on putting up very nice paintings and drawings and I had nothing to show. When I was at school I used to draw a lot but that was about sixty years ago. Since then I had no reason to practice my art or drawing skills. At that time I had tried painting with watercolour paints but found that medium to be too much of a challenge so I stopped trying to paint. Sometimes I came across senior people who were producing these wonderful paintings on Facebook and admired them. So, last year I decided to give it a go again. What did I have to loose? I mean, if I at least tried properly, maybe I could paint something that would interest my family. Believe me, I was not

 Most people get up in the mornings and reach for a steaming hot cup of coffee with aroma scents filling the air helping to ease them into the start of a new day. There is something mysterious and alluring about the profile of a woman holding a mug with steam carrying that special scent of coffee that we all love all around her. Maybe, when you get up in the morning again you will remember reading this post and seeing the sketch and also decide to reminisce with your favourite coffee -  reminisce implies a casual often nostalgic recalling of experiences long past and gone (Merriam-Webster). This is what I have been doing as I had to reminisce about my past experiences as I wrote my book which I have finished but have been checking and rechecking for errors or spelling mistakes before I can launch it. Soon it will be ready to publish online and I am really hoping people like you who have been checking my blog will want to read it. If you have enjoyed reading about my experiences then yo

Watercolour painting involves a lot of learning and much practise and keeps me motivated to produce better results. The important word here is practise because just reading and watching and hoping doesn't produce the desired results, which is to improve over time. However, when I practise my skills just to keep being busy and relax and allow mistakes to happen, I find that I am still learning to improve my watercolour skills. I call my latest painting new wine because I did paint something similar a while ago and used it to create a simpler version. I didn't over plan what I was going to draw and paint, I just went with the flow and still managed produce something that I could work with. One thing that I have learned over time in my efforts to paint with watercolours is that I need to persevere while I am painting because it usually doesn't look so glamorous until I add the black lines which makes my painting stand out from the white paper. If you remove all the black from

 An idea is just an idea if that is all we do when thinking about things. Once upon a time man looked at birds and the idea came up that it would be great to fly like a bird. Then, we could rise above the ground and move through the air to cover great distances and be able to see more and further, almost like being on a high mountain. At various stages in history “inventors” puzzled over the complexity of flight with no success at all. Some even died trying out their ideas. This went on for some time until someone cleverer came along. He applied more imagination and testing to the idea of flight and decided to be more practical and change the shape of the wing to a curved surface. More testing took place, and some laws of aerodynamics were formulated and tested or put into practice. The results were better. The idea was developed further with more testing (action). Success didn’t come overnight. No, the “inventors” bravely and patiently continued with their efforts. Now, man can fly wi

  The picture above is from a video where one dog struggled to carry the branch and came to a fallen tree in the path where it couldn't continue. The second dog came to the rescue and helped to get the branch past the log and together they ran along with both of them carrying the branch. Someone shared the video on LinkedIn which I enjoyed and also added my own story as well. Small actions often lead to huge results. Let's apply this to 2024. For instance, add a little kindness to relationships and how we treat people. The results can be astounding. Add a little more value to others and see big results. Isn't that what this is all about? Most people will try and pull you down to their level. Just respond with a kind word, then be quiet. That will hit home. I think people will respect you more and you will stand out from the crowd. Maybe we should apply that in how we think about our country and load shedding. Get ourselves into a positive frame of mind instead of complainin