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Thursday, February 25, 2010

Velddrif


Say the word "ocean" and my little car goes into motion, you can say it is her homing instinct! So down the mountain we rushed, leaving Piketberg behind. After that the road took us past Aurora and then straight down to Velddrif and the sea. It was not long before we spotted patches of the lovely Berg River that has its mouth at Velddrif. Calm blue water with wading birds, boats and cottages along the river shores lead us into a tranquil fishing village.


So I went for the biggest boat first. The composition was made difficult by my closeness to the scene. I refused to paint a great grey expanse of the foreground concrete jetty, and thus I landed up with a problem of balance. This is how I solved it: a lighter sky over the little town in the background, so that the eye could be drawn in, two silhoettes of seabirds and two ropes.

For the next few posts you can expect more of the things Velddrif is famous for: salt pans, wading birds, bokkoms (a type of dried mullet hanging in rows at Bokkom Lane) and of course more boats.

26 comments:

  1. Beautiful and very well done Marie! Love the boat and the little houses in the background - great!

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  2. This is beautiful Marie and I really enjoy reading your descriptions and stories. I am on our coast right now but with no time to paint until the Olympics are over. Will be back to read more of your posts soon!

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  3. I can hear the seagulls just by looking at your wonderful painting!! Beautiful painting, Marie!!

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  4. Marie, this is simply gorgeous. I love the point-of-view and your perspective. I have always loved the sea and you've captured the best of both worlds in this painting with the quaint town on the horizon. So beautiful!

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  5. Marie, what a wonderful trip and adventure you are having. Thanks for taking all of us along. I like your solution to the composition challenges. The wonderful upside down V of the ropes leads me right to the start of the show.

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  6. Hi Barb, Manon, Maree, Mary and Sherry, thank you for your kind comments! Mary, both sounds right, doesn't it? A kind of double meaning....

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  7. Gorgeous Marie!! You make me miss the west coast...the whole Cape coast...!
    Ronelle

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  8. Wow! This is a wonderful painting. Very interesting composition. The ropes are a great lead into the painting. Thank you for all of the appreciated comments on my blog.

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  9. Wonderful composition. What a joy for you, to travel, paint, and write. All the best to you, and thank you for sharing.

    Joan

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  10. This is wonderful Marie. I also like to hear how you arrived at your composition.

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  11. marie,
    the composition you have achieved is great...
    the description is inspiring...
    it was interesting to read the problem you faced and the solution you have found out...
    fantastic work of art...

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  12. Oh Marie! You are so blessed to have all these wonderful sceneries to paint! I love this ship painting. I am looking forward to seeing more!

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  13. Marie, just found your blog by way of Barbara Pask and I'm so glad I did. What a lovely and successful piece! Thanks for sharing how you worked through the challenges. Now I'm off to see your prior posts!

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  14. This is an impressive painting, Marie, with universal appeal. Thank you for telling us about your composition challenges and solutions--the resulting composition is powerful. I have enjoyed browsing all your recent posts, so full of information and lovely, fine paintings to contemplate.

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  15. What a beautiful painting. I can feel and smell the ocean when I look at it! You are right, the lines (ropes) of the boat and the birds really balance the picture, even though the boat is such a dominating element in the painting. Can't wait to see more water scenes!

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  16. My favorite color is blue. Its fascinating to see all the different shades of blue in this painting. Back in your last post you wrote: no more Wollies as in: the store does not exist in SA anymore? Back in the days the stores were packed with customers. Does it have a new owner? As for the proteas I will keep on searching florists or the internet to see if someone in North America has them. Thanks for the info. : D

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  17. I obviously should have read this post before I commented on the post you left me!!
    This is terrific, Marie... Looks like you solved all of the "problems" because it works really well!!

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  18. Thank you for all the encouragement, and thanks also to those who left comments on Facebook on the NetworkedBlogs which unfortunately cannot be seen here!I will "visit" everyone of you soon to see my hard-working and talented friends'latest works!

    Welcome to my blog Jyothisethu and Rosemary!

    Anne-Marie,although there is no more Woollies for you over there, the shopping chain is alive and well here and still sell the best flowers!

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  19. A very nice piece, Marie! The ropes help to create a solid triangular composition! Love your color.

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  20. From my perspective just a few miles from the geographic center of North America, I am so envious of 'running down the mountain to the sea'. That sort of variety has to keep you eye lively!

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  21. Marie-
    Thanks for visiting us at Beyond the Bluegate. What a delight to find your blog see your wonderful artwork.
    Jill

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  22. Thanks so much Marie for taking the time to comment on my work. It is much appreciated and also boosts my confidence!
    I like this painting.The elements added from your imagination has really made the painting strong.Also I find the descriptions about the places you visit very interesting :)
    Cheers

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  23. Hello Marie

    Hope you don't mind but I’m sending you a little Sunshine Award for your blog, hop over and take a look on my blog for instructions. Thanks for being so inspiring! Loved you piece on Veldrif.

    http://debadoodle.blogspot.com/



    Regards

    Debbie

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  24. Dear Marie: I see you have been so busy painting and the result is fabulous! I just read your last two entries and was fascinated by the background on the protea flowers - I didn't know they were so ancient! The rendering of the flowers are just exquisite! Must go back and read the rest... I have a lot of catching up to do! Happy painting!

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  25. Well, Marie, I am now the proud owner of your beautiful boat! It's being framed and is about to take a special spot in our home!

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I love your comments, they make my day!