Posted by Stephen Quirke on January 25, 2010 under Art, en plein air, painting, seascape, watercolor, watercolour | 
Here is a painting I did in Muizenberg at the end of last week when I drove through to pick up my board which had been fixed by the guys at the Lifestyle Surf Shop.
It felt really good to have it with me again but I could not surf as they had just sighted another Great White.
You can see the cottage from the last time I painted here as well as the power cables for the False Bay line.
Posted by Stephen Quirke on January 16, 2010 under Art, seascape, watercolor, watercolour |
This morning I went through to Muizenberg and took the walk through to Kalk Bay – as I did the other day. I sat on the way to do this watercolour of the view:
And now the explanation:
I have decided to re-energise my other blog at WordPress. It is such a cool community and I have felt the need for somewhere more loose than this website since I started. So I have re-opened my very first blog at www.sjqwatercolour.wordpress.com. I had closed this first watercolour blog and started deg34south because my business profile was different from my art profile. This is still an issue and I will see what I need to do about it. At the end of last year I opened this website. Well I hope this is the end of the chopping and changing but I am afraid I cannot guarantee this. (o:
Anyway – you can check out the story behind this watercolour at the other site – just click on that site. S
Posted by Stephen Quirke on January 9, 2010 under Art, figure, landscape, painting, seascape, watercolor, watercolour |
Here is my studio take on the trek-fishermen at Smitswinkelbaai. Most of the artists in “The watercolor Landscape Techniques of 23 International Artists” recommend doing a value sketch before starting a new painting. My value sketch is usually my first full scale attempt. So I decided to try doing this. Here is the value sketch:
Actually it is really two but anyway.
Here is my drawing which was supposed to be more detailed than usual but actually wasnt:
The cactus in the background is my Christmas gift from Ethan. One well armed dude!
And here is where the painting is right now. I have tried to do the rocks in one go – without glazing and glazing. However my first go was last night when I was tired and not daring enough. You can see the result of that one in the rock on the far right – I have done the others again. These are quartzite boulders from the Table Mountain Sandstone mountains surrounding the beach. The outcrops are granites (Cape Granite I think – I should know but was not listening much in these lectures in my first year of Geology – long long ago)…
I am hoping the sea will take life when I put in the surrounding darks. I have also defined the detail a little more carefully. I painted the rocks to the music of Donna Summer – yeh – a blast from the past – heh heh – could it be magic – and I posted this to the music of the Doobie Brothers…
Here is how it looks at the dinner break, with the beach in place:
I thought I would do a few studio projects this holiday but this is the first time I have felt I have had the energy. But there we are – this feels so good. Oh and yesterday the gallery phoned to say there were people who wanted my rock pool paintings but were quibbling about the price – my first reaction was to suggest they go and look at the local furniture mart where they have huge poster stands full of chocolate box posters. But I didn’t and I sold them. I am keen to make space for new work now.
Well here is the next piece – I did this listening to Paul Harrison – All things must pass:
Time for bed and here is how it looks:
I must review the values. But it is time to give this a break and see how it looks in the morning.
Posted by Stephen Quirke on January 7, 2010 under Art, en plein air, landscape, painting, seascape, watercolor, watercolour |
Here is a painting from Smitswinkelbaai, just outside of the Cape Point Nature Reserve. There is a bit of a hike down to the beach which keeps it fairly uncrowded. There must be a story behind the name (‘Smit’ – a surname, ‘winkel’ = a shop and ‘baai’ = bay) the official looking site has a description. Anyway, the trek fishermen were lounging on the beach when I arrived. As I stepped onto the sand they got a signal from their lookout up the hill that a shoal of fish (I guess) was coming into the bay. They all leapt up and pushed the boat, on a trailer down to the water line – then sat back. While they waited I did this watercolour of the boat and the rocks. The unfinished foreground is a testament to the immiscibility of watercolour painting and family outings.
This calls for another visit…
Posted by Stephen Quirke on January 4, 2010 under Art, Helderberg, en plein air, landscape, watercolor, watercolour |
This morning I had a wander around the Helderberg Reserve. There was a light breeze but it was baking hot. I sat under the Keurboom (what is that in English? - Kigelaria Africana) and sat contemplating the mountain. There was a terrapin the size of a matchbox sunning itself on a lily pad but it scooted off before I could take a picture (or a sketch heh heh). I was attracted by the lilies which are all flowering. So I painted the lilies rather than the whole scene. mmm – what do you think?
This is how they looked:
You can see the reflection of the sky and the mountain. When the water is still I could see all the detail and colour of the mountain in the reflection. And the reflection is much darker than the lilies. Look at all the yellows and greens! Definitely something for the studio. While I was painting a group of people came to see the painting and chat. They were speaking an Eastern language and I learned that the father of the wife of one of the couples had come out from Taiwan to visit his daughter and – well – I just felt it would be good for him to have this painting so I caught up to the couple and asked her to give it to her father.
When I sat down again I did this painting:
Still not what I want to achieve but there it is. While I was painting I chatted with another local couple to whom I gave another painting and also to a lady who also paints in watercolours. So – a nice friendly morning – very lekker.
Later I wandered up to the forest (where the wedding had taken place last year) where I painted this watercolour:
Also another place I would like to paint again. Pine forests are so therapeutic. There was a raptor flying at the edge of the forest calling with a plaintive cry and the wind blew through through the trees with a rushing sound. I remembered the nights when I used to sleep in Newlands Forest when I studied at the University of Cape Town. A little bit of magic.
Posted by Stephen Quirke on January 1, 2010 under Art, figure, painting, watercolor, watercolour |
On new-year’s eve eve I dropped a painting off with my friends Mark and Rae. We have a long and colourful history together which included the development of a personal mastery programme together – phew! Anyway they bought one my paintings of the surf competition at Misty Cliffs and I gave Rae the other one for her birthday. They have both been so supportive of my painting.
Rae had a pounding migraine but offered me a fruit juice, then Mark offered an espresso and we agreed that the occasion warranted a shot or ouzo too. And then they hauled out all this cheese and biscuits. So we sat on the verandah and shot the breeze and had bid our farewell to 2009. I had realised that I was totally burnt out from the year and it was just so good to sit with these two supportive people. So I wanted to capture something of the moment. I had to leave so we had a weekend’s conversation in a couple of hours and I took a photo from which I painted this watercolour. mmm mmmmmm – well there it is.
I spent a good part of New Year’s Eve clearing a blocked sewerage drain before joining friends to see in the new decade. I am not one for omens but I had a sense that clearing the blocked drain had something to do with letting go of all the negative build-up – yes I have thought of the more graphic metaphors. It crossed my mind too that this should not be a harbinger of what I will be doing in 2010. Ai! – well – we shall see. My task now is to rest and recover.
Posted by Stephen Quirke on under Art, en plein air, landscape, painting, seascape, watercolor, watercolour |
Well the year is off to a good start. I have started working through “Walking in this World” by Julia Cameron to try to deal with the frazzle of last year. Three pages a day, an artist date once a week and a walk. Well today I went out to the coast just this side of Koeel Bay for a walk and to take some photos. There was a hot dry wind blowing and the sea sparkled in blue and green. A great stroll.
AND
I sat and painted a watercolour of view looking towards Rooiels before walking back to the car. Here is the view:
Isn’t it just stunning? I consider myself so fortunate to have this on my doorstep. And here is my set up:
Here is the drawing:
It was really hot and dry so I motored through the washes and did not take an interim shot. Here is how it looked before the finishing touches:
And here is the final version:
So there we go. I am pleased with this as a start to 2010. I am not big on new-year resolutions but I am keen to put 2009 behind me and prepare my soul, my body my business and my watercolour world for this new year. And just for that here is the view up the coast towards Gordon’s Bay, from the path down to the sea from where I parked – mooi ne?:
I have painted the rocky bay in the lower foreground a few times and tucked away in the shadow on the right there is a fresh water fall which fills a small pool. There is a couple fishing and crayfishing on the rocks.
