New Dimensions

Today I practised some more in another way. I drew another picture and coloured it in with watercolour pencils and then used some water on a brush to add water to the flower. It didn't work like I expected it to so I used coloured markers to deepen the colours some more. The idea was to see if I could eliminate the watercolour paint. That somehow improved things but the original looks better than the photographed version. So I have now added it above. Here you can read about how I started watercolour painting . Sometimes it's nice to also practise something different and completely new to you. So, I decided to see what would happen if I painted something on newsprint. I was surprised to see that one could manage to paint on newsprint and that it handles the water from the paint pretty well. The result is above.  Recently, I bought painting journals. One was cheap and the other was more expensive. To test the cheaper one first I sketched a picture and proceeded to paint with wat...

 In an earlier blog post I mentioned that I would be displaying wild animals photos on my blog. I had to wait until after the weekend to be able to keep that promise. The time has arrived although the animals stayed away and I couldn't get the shots I wanted. What I did manage to get will be shown here. Some of you may know that rhinos in South Africa are being pouched for their horns and is a big moneymaking business. We are still fortunate that we can visit the Alzu Petroport in Mpumalanga. The two rhinos casually walked up to the water troughs and the calf allowed the mother to drink first and only after a while also started drinking. It looks like these majestic animals respect the hierarchy within their kind and don't just but in and drink or eat before the matriarchs or elders first get their share. I think us humans can learn from them. It looked like there was a tight bond between mother and calf because the latter remained at her side wherever they went. Inside the cen...

  On  August 13, 2023 , I wrote about the safest place for me because I wanted to share a scripture that I had found that morning that spoke to my heart and circumstances. This morning I woke up to a noise on my roof. I looked at my watch and saw that it was one o'clock and it was very dark outside. Whatever climbed on my roof was moving around because I could hear that. I decided to get up and switch some lights on to let whoever or whatever was up there know I was awake. I then switched on the kettle and made myself a cup of tea. Since my sleep was disturbed and I was wide awake, I may as well have enjoyed a nice warm cuppa. Then, I decided to have a look at what was happening with my blog. I found that people from all over the world were visiting. They came from United States, United Kingdom, South Korea, South Africa, Germany, France, Ireland, Singapore, and Canada. So, I decided to write this blog post. When you are at my age with no means of protecting yourself and your...

  The 2023 Rugby World Cup Final on Saturday 28 October was an exciting game to watch. The two best teams that made it to the final gave it their all and kept us spectators biting our nails as it looked like the game could go either way. I know that there was so much at stake because the All-blacks wanted to win so badly. Unfortunately, they made mistakes through bad judgement and received penalty after penalty.  Fortunately, the referee was very unbiased and called the game correctly according to the rules. All praise to him for his good judgement. When he needed to ask the TV judges for a decision because he wanted to make sure all the decisions were fair, it actually improved the game and to show that there were no favourites. For me that made the game more enjoyable, even when it looked like a setback for the Boks. The important thing is that the Springboks won, even if only by just one point. As a South African spectator, I learned just how committed the Springboks were w...

  Three years ago I asked my wife Maggie if she could make me a bag for my iPad. The iPad is too valuable to carry without some form of protection so that it doesn't get scratched or damaged. She is handy with those kinds of things. She then spent a lot of time searching the Internet for a suitable design but nothing suitable could be found. In the end she decided to ask me if we could do the design ourselves. With some adjustments and trial and error we finally got the design we wanted. Maggie then used the template we had made and she cut out the material for the bag. Once that was done we saw the bag emerging from the pieces she had prepared. We also checked that the bag was still able to house the iPad because we made sure it was a tight fit. I just took a photo of my bag which Maggie made 3 years ago so that I could add her heart to the front pocket. The bag has become quite popular and she has made some for a few clients. I use my bag every day because I put my mobile phone i...

Who can resist a beautiful picture of a horse? These elegant animals are majestic and have served mankind for centuries. Many stories have been written about them. They have featured in movies, used to transport stagecoaches across America, transported cavalry across borders into battle. They have ploughed fields, been used to pull chariots for ancient Greeks and Romans. Horses have been raced to enrich people financially. They have been entered into show jumping events. The list goes on. Horses have also roamed the prairies in the wild and that is one way to remember them well. When a picture comes across one’s path that looks so beautiful, we stop and admire it. In my case I decided to paint this one – my very first painting of an animal in watercolours. I am sure a lot of people seeing my painting will know that painting with watercolours is not the easiest thing to do because mistakes happen, and the water paint goes where you don’t want it to go a lot of the time. It doesn’t mat...

  On 15 October, the Rugby World Cup match between the Springboks and the French took place in France. The match started with an early try from the French prop Cyril Baille. Then, Kurt-Lee Arendse sprinted to the corner for a brilliant try and after that Damian de Allende muscled over to give the Springboks a 12-7 lead. The French hooker Peato Mauvaka scored a try, but the conversion failed because Cheslin Kolbe miraculously spoiled the kick. Baille scored again and Ramos converted a penalty to put the blue team into the lead by 22 – 19 as the whistle blew for half-time. In the second half the battle continued as Ramos extended their advantage with a penalty. South African player Etzebeth stretched over fourteen minutes before full time and replacement Handre Pollard converted plus a late penalty. The Springboks were finally victorious with a nail-biting 29 to 28 win. I haven’t seen players battle out a rugby match like this one for a long time. It was physical and intense al...