Roses in an Antique Teapot painted in the Zorn Palette

Madcap me has reached an age where things come by more than once! Fashions, oh yes! And young people listen to songs from "our" era! And now, having painted flowers in oils 35 years ago, I suddenly saw these incredible roses and had to start painting them again! I will show an old painting of mine at the end of this post!

Here is my latest work (sold on Facebook). I tried the colour palette used by Anders Zorn and which also gets a friendly nod from Richard Schmid and is demonstrated and explained by Westerberg Fine Art. The colours are Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red and Ivory Black with the addition of White. All went well with my still life and even the grey I made with the two neutral colours appeared like the  blue of the teapot. The most difficult part was to paint foliage. I used a reddish brown made with the red, yellow ochre and black to shade yellow ochre leaves.

Roses in an Antique Teapot by South African Artist Marie Theron
500mm x 400mm Oil on Canvas
SOLD

I promised to show a painting I did in 1989, half a lifetime ago. This was painted when I lived in Durban and had lots of hibiscus in my garden.

Abstract Tree Paintings by South African Impressionist Artist Marie Theron

The palette knife, that I do not often use, played a great role in my abstracts as I slashed out the verticals of the forest with black paint. The black network provided the ideal shapes for filling in. First I used lots of skins of dry acrylic paint, pulled from paper palettes. I cut the recyclable paint with sharp scissors and used the palette knife to cover the backs with white or cerulean blue/white mix, then stuck them onto the canvas. All shapes were then blended into the painting with more paint until I have created the atmosphere that I wanted to portray, the atmosphere of a kind forest providing health and shelter and peace to men and animals.

"Forest Glade"
460mm x 350mm
18" x 14"
US$ 245
R2500


To view or buy: go HERE

"Secrets of the Forest"
300mm x 300mm
12" x 12"
Acrylic and Acrylic Collage on Canvas
US$ 163
R 1500

To view or buy, click HERE

FOR MY ABSTRACT AND OTHER LANDSCAPES  AND TO SEE MY FULL CV

VISIT THIS USER-FRIENDLY WEBSITE:

"Forest Cathedral" an abstract painting by South African artist Marie Theron

Is it possible to paint an entirely non-representational work of art? Even the most abstract work is usually abstracted from nature, or maybe from ideas and emotions...there is something there. And like the eye that is forced to look upon a dirt wall, we start seeing some images. I remember in my knotty pine bedroom ceiling there was a little pigmy complete with  a sword that probably only I could see. Even Leonardo da Vinci recommended that artists do that. This is a quote from a Tate Gallery article called "The deliberate accident in art"

Ever since Leonardo da Vinci urged artists to search for inspiration in the dirt on walls or the streaked patterns in stones, they have found that the accidental blot, the chance mark, or the naturally occurring stain can be a starting point for some extraordinary art.

I have decided to do more paintings in the  same style as "Forest Rain". I once again started with an organic shape. You can see the tree-like image in the right side of the painting. I then created a dark green forest floor to lead the eye into the painting. Harmonizing and contrasting colours were placed and I followed a square grid to bring an order of an architectural nature into the work. Do you agree with me that the theme; "Forest Cathedral" is suitable?

Sugar and Spice, (little girls) painted by South African Impressionist Artist Marie Theron

I had fun doing eight little child paintings, where I tried to capture them in some gentle activity. Of, course, I have stored images over the years, and these darlings are based on photos of my grandchildren when they were young and sometimes the child of a friend. My subjects never pose for my and I like to capture them when they are unaware.

I first painted the canvasses bright blue. This blue colour had an influence on all the colours I used, softening the colours and contributing to the delicate nature of my subject. Due to a much smaller gallery space, I paint in acrylics, which I love. I will show more of my kids next time.

'Every Drop Helps"
100mm x 100mm
6' x 6'
View or Buy

'Girl with a Cat" 2
100mm x 100mm
6' x 6'
Buy or view

"Dreaming by the Stream"
100mm x 100mm
6' x 6'
SOLD

Paintings for Summer by South African Impressionist Marie Theron

Tea on the Terrace
150mm x 210mm
6" x 8" 
Acrylic on Canvas
ZAR 1333
US$ 131

To buy, view or read my CV click here

A Long Cool Drink

150mm x 210mm

6" x 8" 

Acrylic on Canvas

ZAR 1333

US$ 131
SOLD

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

The West Coast and I

Ten years ago we moved to the West Coast to live close to the ocean. How close? Friends who have seen photos of my home, will know! The photos in this post were taken 80  meters from where I live by friend and photographer Mary Ann Bosch, who absolutely loves the West Coast too. 

In May last year, I lost my husband and  although I bravely declared that I would remain here forever, I slowly started to identify my new role. So I am making a shift to warm Natal where we have lived before, and where my twin granddaughters are.   I will not make any move in haste. I was never a person to be hurried along, but yes, I am gradually taking leave and getting new plans together. I keep a wide space in my heart for the West Coast and for the lovely memories we have collected.

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Sketches and Doodles of Rabbits Lead to New Ideas

This can be called playing around, but I love sketching and hope by doing so I can chance upon something new to paint. I also have very important decisions to make in my life and thinking is something one can do the same time as sketching. I will post the sketches here and then in the next post, show something Very Good that happened afterwards.

Snow has lovely lines. I sketched her on newsprint paper on my large flip-file.
 If you know me on Facebook, you will see a gentle photo of Snow with Dexter,
the Alsation on last night's post.

This is Snow, the little bunny that has been in some of my blog stories.

Mmmm, too much like a greeting card, but we will keep trying!

Now, at last, there is some character in my sketch.

A lot of character here. The sketch quickly became the property of a friend!

And here I started doodles in ink and pencil, getting my background ideas from
 the designs of William Morris. The forms go into play with the bunny shapes.
Can you see the connection that has formed with "His Master's Voice"?

A feeling of mystery as the bunny jumps through the William Morris foliage!

I already had such good suggestions as to what the bunnies are doing: males,
 waiting to see what females will come past?  William Morris designs are immensely intricate
and I lack patience to do them neatly, but somehow,
something new was born from these doodles, and I will show them next time.

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.

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.

Six Girl Rabbits, Whoa!

What was Snowball dreaming of when she rested under that lovely pink duvet? Mmmmm, and then came Peter! They decided to be a Mom and Dad and were given a pretty pebbled garden all of their own, quite far from Benjamin. Because Peter and Benjamin might have been playing sometimes, but to us humans it looked like ferocious fighting.

So here, in their own place I observed the wonderful , soft , round little bunnies.There were six, and the vet said that they were all girls! 

This is Vanilla:

"Vanilla" 6x6 Oil on wrapped canvas . By South African Artist Marie Theron.

Remember when I painted them in watercolours before? This is a re-post of the painting:

Rabbits in watercolour, 18" x 12" (2011) by South African Artist Marie Theron

You may like some photos too. This is Snowball, who is often invited inside:

Snowball, Mom of six daughter rabbits.

And here she is having a meal with three of her six daughter rabbits:

Vanilla, Mom Snowball, Dad Peter and Sprinkles

Rabbits are so soft they can sit very tight! I thought at first glance that there were three in this photo, but there are four. We should never say one bunny is the prettiest, but isn't Vanilla (on the left) just too lovely for words?

Wonderful Challenges

BARRELS, BASKETS, BOTTLES II
800mm x 800mm oil on canvas by Marie Theron

 I love commissions! Unexpected requests have taken me into the most interesting places. And so I have done large wall paintings and delicate botanical drawings where every part of a plant and all angles had to be measured. I have painted a book cover and done illustrations for another book. You will also remember the post a few months ago where I painted the hair of two teenagers, a very enjoyable commission.

In November 2013 a "dream client" visited my studio. She bought the Velddrif painting from two posts ago and commissioned the four seagull paintings which I showed in the last post. And then she also commissioned a large copy of a painting I had in my home.

Getting started on the barrels painting.

I took this photo halfway through the process.
The older, smaller painting hangs in the background.

With commissions, you never know what the next challenge will be. We are halfway through January and I am working on some small pieces, being wide awake and keenly looking out for the next interesting project that comes my way.

One Thing Leads to Another: The First Ball

"The First Ball" 16 x 20 inches (400mm x 500mm) Water-soluble Oil on Canvas
R2500 / $250 SOLD

When I started going in the direction of softer works, I halted and said: 'No, this is not me!" but little did I know that the Impressionistic works would open the door to some delightful commissions. On seeing the Monet-like work, the mother of my young model, Kayla, whom I painted in a confident pose with an umbrella in a previous painting, asked me to do a special large painting from a photograph. What a wonderful image she sent me, and this is the result on a 16 x 20 inch canvas.

I loved doing the half-plaited look of Kayla's hair and the soft loose curls of her dark-haired friend who is also called Kayla. The painting holds for me not only the image of specific people. It becomes a universal expression of the joy of being young, as these girls approach a castle-like building to attend their first ball in pretty chiffon dresses. This is one of the many moments in a young girl's life on her way to adulthood.

The painting was done in W&N water-soluble oil paints, my new must-have product. It is amazing to work with, and I do not thin the paint at all.  To read more on the product, here is a link to Lori McNee's website.

Impressionistic Exercise in Art

"Lilac Brollies" by artist Marie Theron
405mm x 305mm oil on canvas board
SOLD

I quite liked an earlier painting that I did in 2011, called "Busy Lizzies". On seeing a photo of figures in movement that I would love to paint, I immediately reverted back to that cool fresh style of painting. The new one is simply called "Lilac Brollies" to rhyme with the earlier name. To crown it all, the owner of the first painting, wants to buy the new painting as well.

"Busy Lizzies" (2011) by artist Marie Theron
405mm x 305 mm oil on board
SOLD

The freshness of the Great Masters of Impressionist painting, will always be appealing, and I decided to add some "wiki" images of Monet's umbrella ladies to this post for everyone to enjoy again and again!

MONET

MONET

MONET

MONET