Pages

Friday, February 28, 2014

We do not have bunnies...

No, we do not have rabbits on the West Coast of South Africa, but they have been seen on some farms away from the coast. But of course there is always "pretending". I painted Lola and Vanilla really big and then posed the painting in the garden.

I was very happy with the fast laying down of colours. This piece was painted alla prima in a single session. The secret of  painted or photographed animals, is to give lots of attention to the eyes.

Giant Lola and Vanilla 500mm x 500mm Water-soluble oil on stretched canvas.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Sprinkles and Raspberry

The good news is, that I am going to visit that lovely family of rabbits again. I hope to show photos of myself holding them in April.

Sprinkles and Raspberry 8 x 8 oil on boxed canvas
I am sure you wondered about the little "masked" rabbit, who played my "Joker" in The Circle of Life? Aptly named "Sprinkles" by my clever grandchildren, she shares the white of her mom, Snowball and the black of her dad, Peter. I used rough brush strokes here to avoid getting stuck with the detail. I am sure you love Raspberry too. In this photo of the two, Raspberry looks so very serene, while Sprinkles, the actress, pretends to be a cat:


Thursday, February 13, 2014

The Circle of Life

It is probably fitting that I have finished this painting, called "The Circle of Life" in my birthday week. It is open to many interpretations. Of course, like in fairy tales, the story can be softened for children. It can also be serious or threatening, if you want.

"The Circle of Life" by Marie Theron
Oil on Canvas 500mm x 400mm

Let's start at 12 o' clock. There is that cute bunny Sprinkles, our little joker, who looks masked with those big black spots at the eyes. We start this cycle with her.  There are two large rabbits, male and female in the center, to symbolize a prolific breeding pair, surrounded by lots of little ones. Now go anti-clockwise from Sprinkles onward, and there is Snowball, the lovely white rabbit and her friend Peter, black with a white stripe down his nose. Snowball and Peter, as we know had six girl rabbits. It is a life of breeding and eating that is awaiting them. A grey rabbit nibbles away at lettuce and may have a few flowers for desert. I could not help but posing our darlings, Lola (at 6 o' clock), and Vanilla again. They are full of life and ready for anything. Raspberry, one of the 6 sisters poses as a dead rabbit at the end of the life cycle. (I promise that Raspberry is alive and well and living in Durban). She is posing, remember! Our newest bunny, Snow, poses as the caregiver. That name, Snow, causes lots of misunderstandings at my grandchildren's place. Everyone coming through the door is greeted with: "Come and see, Snow!", which of course sounds funny in Durban, one of the hottest towns in South Africa. And then, to restart the circle of life, there is a tiny, dozy, fluffy baby rabbit.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

A Milepost Birthday and More Rabbits: Meeting Lola

It was the strangest thing, I got involved in painting rabbits and people suddenly associated me with them, which is GOOD! It means that the rabbit theme is mine. Here in my studio the rabbits are breeding on canvasses and I want to make them very serious. I want to give the paintings layers of meaning. But I had friends who laughed out loud (in a kindly way), as no matter how deep and serious I try to make my rabbits,  as animals with worlds of knowledge in their eyes, the only thing everyone sees is a bunch of pretty cuddly bunnies! But I will pursue this theme, until I capture the nuances that I am striving for.

My granddaughters named everyone of the six sister rabbits. Today I am continuing The Benjamin Files series, by showing darling Lola. 

"Lola" by West Coast Artist Marie Theron 10 x 10 Oil on Canvas

About this milepost I mentioned in the title, I turned 70 over the weekend and had friends and family around me. The rabbit theme caused great fun with some gifts and cards featuring rabbits.

Me with Tatyana Binovskaya, my artist friend and sometimes exhibition partner
Thank you for popping in. I am heading towards great numbers of visitors, but seldom hear from them. If you say hi in my comments, it would be wonderful.