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. 

Some Rabbit Sketches

Just pencil and paper. I love this plain medium, and I feel that one can reach some emotion, some underlying concept by simple means. Here are a few sketches on the rabbit theme. All three have something that is not easy to define.

Mother Snowball SOLD

Lola Hiding AVAILABLE

Vanilla in the Brambles AVAILABLE

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.

Playing with Rabbits and Depth

I was pleased to realize that the bunnies have become a part of me when a friend wrote: "somehow they are so you"! We had better watch my facial features, as I may begin to resemble The March Hare or some such character!

Both the blue Wm Morris rabbits from my last blog have sold, and I know I must do every other background blue. Blue is so like Delft and very popular.But for the moment, I have made another rabbit displayed against William Morris's Trellis Wallpaper design. This was a working drawing for a design and he was trying different backgrounds behind the trellis. I decided to paint both the rust colour and the beige background and to fill the whole design with black or white ink patterns.

I then placed the rabbit so that it seems to sit on a vertical piece of fencing and to chat to the wallpaper bird. A 3-D rabbit and a flat 2-D bird. A 3-D rabbit sitting on a flat piece of trellis!

Somebunny is Confused. Available artwork

What fun to play like that! And from that I got the name for the painting: "Somebunny is Confused!"

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.

Miniatures Group Exhibition

I was invited to take part in an exhibition of miniature paintings, each work only slightly larger than a credit card. The exhibition will take place at the popular Long Street Art Lovers 1932 in Waterkloof, Pretoria, This place is usually brimful of people on opening nights, often spilling over onto the sidewalks. This will be the 3^rd year that Art Lovers 1932 presents the annual miniature exhibition. Last year the gallery had 97 participating artists and over 300 art works,and yes, it will be bigger and more popular this year.

And my contribution.....no guess work: tiny original versions of some of my rabbit paintings. If you are able to, attend the opening on 22nd May 2014 from 6pm onwards.