A Special Stitch Cartoon for an Artist

This was such a fun assignment. I usually draw directly onto my canvas, but then I received the list of animals (and a parrot) to be included in this commissioned biographical stitch cartoon, plus the artist's favourite outfits and symbols and colours! I just had to make a few drawings first. The artist is Valencia van Zyl. Her amazing style is something that I cannot even imitate (some have tried, but it lacks her special quality). The outcome of this painting was that both she and I were happy with it in the end.

Here are a few more of my stitch cartoons:

The warm colours, the pets, the cosy dark sofas and curtains, all create a sense of welcome and homeliness. The scenes are "stitched" together, stitches  being a symbol of domesticity. The ladies are faceless to emphasize the body language. There is a feeling of patience and anticipation in the waiting figures.

There is a calendar available with 12 of the best stitch cartoons. 

Twins in a Tulip World

"In his lecture, Some Hints on Pattern Designing, 1881, he (William Morris) traced the history of repeating patterns from ancient and classical times to the Gothic period in which a significant change in pattern structure took place,  marked by what he called ,the universal acceptance of continuous growth. Morris mostly used a diagonal or a network of diamond shapes to base the patterns on. From: " William Morris Designs and Patterns by Norah Gillow. "

Twins in a Tulip World  by South African Artist Marie Theron 2014
USA: $59 plus $16 shipping (airmail, fast)
SA: R 630 plus R22 normal posting

Here today, is an image for the lovers of pink. The baby twin rabbits looks snug against antique pink and antique blue. The original pattern was Wm M : Tulip Chintz, hardly recognisable here where I  brought the soft blue into the design.

I am hoping to reach number 25 of the William Morris rabbits. The new packaging cost me quite a bit, but I am very pleased to be able to present my work like that. The paintings are protected until the buyer is ready to frame them behind glass.

More Acanthus Blue Rabbits

Talented William Morris was truly a king of design. In the 1880's William Morris was trying to furnish and complete "Red House", a home built especially for him. Unable to find what he wanted in the age of mass production and factories, Morris and some friends started Morris and Co. This was the rebirth of the artist-craftsman, who designed and carried out the work. Even when Morris used craftsmen to make his staircases, textiles, etc, he insisted on mastering all the techniques himself.

I am so lucky. 24 years ago I discovered Cape Town and was very fond of St Georges Mall. There, on a table on a sidewalk, I bought the large book: "William Morris Designs and Patterns" by Norah Gillow. I page through it daily and also do my rough copies of the wallpaper and tile patterns to use as backgrounds for my latest series of rabbits Here are two more inspired by the acanthus design: 

Acanthus Blue Rabbit no 2
The background was painted in gouache and ink
and the furry bunny in water-soluble oils
SOLD

Acanthus Blue Rabbit no 3
I am an excessive doodler, it is also thinking time,
so here I almost could not stop
The background was painted in gouache and ink
and the furry bunny in water-soluble oils
SOLD

William Morris Inspiration

When I started sketching and experimenting, the outcome I liked best was the black and white rabbits with William Morris backgrounds. I have developed the idea into coloured paintings, they are quite delightful and I have sold 5 out of the first 6, with extra orders for duplicates.

I use card and first hand-copy the William Morris wallpaper design onto it, using Designer's Gouache paint and a small brush. This type of paint dries smoothly.

The next step is decorating and enhancing the painted shapes with white and black ink markers. I can do this step while sitting up in bed!

The rabbit is then painted in water-soluble oil paint. I give it a week to dry and then have a mount put around it. Contact me by e-mail if you want to order my William Morris rabbits. I will show more designs next time.

Blue Acanthus Rabbit   The original shown here has been sold,
 but I make duplicates, and no two will ever be exactly the same.
R500 plus R50 p&p  OR  $50 plus $10 p& p

Rabbits breeding in my studio!

"Lola in the Brambles"   The original shown here has been sold,
 but I make duplicates, and no two will ever be exactly the same.
R500 plus R50 p&p   OR  $50 plus $10 p& p

The person who bought this image sent me the photo where it sits on a shelf of Blue Delft ware
 so I have named it the Blue Delft Rabbit.  The original shown here has been sold,
 but I make duplicates, and no two will ever be exactly the same.
R500 plus R50 p&p  OR  $50 plus $10 p&p
All images are mounted for presentation and safety
while being shipped. You just add glass and a frame.

The Pale Rabbits and an Easter Jigsaw Puzzle

Of course this rabbit theme is just too much fun, and I will explore more and more as time goes by. Here are two images that were inspired by old stone rabbits which I found on my cell phone, photographed in Pretoria a year or so ago, even before I started using rabbits as my source material.

I simply called them "lapin 1" and "lapin 2". As soon as I had published the photos on Facebook, I had a sale and was told by many people that these paintings were more atmospheric and meaningful than my paintings of the Peter/Snowball family.

"lapin 1" Oil on Canvas 10" x 10"

"lapin 2" Oil on Canvas 10" x 10"

The symbolic meaning of "rabbit" is regeneration. Of life, of spirit and of the seasons .
 Thus it is a chosen symbol for Easter
You can buy this gift, made from my artwork from www.whiterock.co.za or find it on Facebook 

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.

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.