Marching along

March already??? I swear, we are going to blink and it will be next Christmas!

As far as community involvement goes, with the Crime Forum, Community Art gallery and COPE (the new political party making waves and offering hope in South Africa) I seem to have bitten off rather more than I am able to chew or swallow recently, but I have managed to slink off into the studio every now and then, usually at very anti-social hours, and these are the latest results.

Where have all the icebergs gone?
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A quiet protest about allowing global warming to continue unchecked. As always the poppies signify lives lost, in this case not in man at war with man, but rather man at war with his environment.

to the woods

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A friend once pointed out how many of my landscapes contain roads leading off into the distance, and as i look back, he is quite right, it must be a subconscious expression of the growing need i am feeling to travel! Much as i adore my part of the world, and enjoy travelling vicariously on the internet, I am longing to hit the road and soak up some places that are less familiar... Capetown next week, after that ??????????

Simonstown

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Iam kicking myself that I didn't take a decent pic of this when it was finished. In this form, it wasn't working for me, so I pallette knifed over the background buildings, and made it more abstract. l lightened the sea in the foreground, and added a yacht in the closest bay.

I smile whenever I see this view of Simonstown, with its Naval Base from the mountain behind it, on the road that leads across to Scarborough and Cape Point. In the repressive Apartheid years, there was a stern sign at this lookout point, warning that it was a military installation below, and photography was prohibited. Naturally this brought out the rebel in me, and i photographed the sign, the fact that the harbour was in the background was pure coincidence... or that's how I planned to explain it if any officious person challenged me!

Africa's Children, the lost generation 2

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Africa's Children, the lost generation 3
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The Africa's children series just keeps going, I just can't seem to get it out of my system! I look at some of the little waifs around me, whose parents are dying of aids, or have no hope of finding jobs, and they break my heart as I wonder what the future holds for them. Can we make enough of a difference in this country that we can turn things around for these kids? I hope the election next month will put an end to the government corruption which is robbing these kids of their future.... which is why I am currently throwing my energy into COPE.

facing my future

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Adrift 600x600mm

the comments above apply here too.

The food aid arrives 6 and 7

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Despite the fact that these kids face the uncertainty of having to wait till their next meal drops out of the sky, they exude the joyful playfulness of children all over the world.

Farewell Homeland 2

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A Sudanese mother and her children look back on the remains of the only home they have ever known, before fleeing to who knows what future. Every now and then I do a painting that really talks to me in a special way. This is one of them. I hope it doesn't sell too soon, I want to live with it for a while!

People of the shadows

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As many countries continue to be in meltdown, their citizens are forced to flee through the shadows to escape. The refugees of Africa continually amaze me with their resilliant spirits against all the odds. I know it is fashionable to mock people like Bob Geldorf and Bono who are trying to make a difference, but I salute them! They could so easily be squandering their wealth and fame on self indulgence, as the majority of high profile people seem to do, but instead they are willing to care and do something about the plight of these people.