Pears on a plate from art afternoon with Casey.
I’d like to redo these…I was so tired and I left early and the whole painting looks tired. It was such a beautiful, simple set up, I wish I did a better job. We were sitting outside and had a new friend in our little group of two, a beautiful French lady, Nicole. She did the pears in oil. She lives right opposite Casey, so maybe she can persuade Nicole to post her pears in oil…?
WC on Fabriano HP 30.5 x 23cm
Everything comes to an end. And with the end comes a new beginning. We all know that. But I don’t have the beginnings on my mind, I’m in a philosophical mood, so I’m preoccupied with endings. And rightly so. A few things happened to me lately that focused me on how time passes on its own terms and brings all things to an end.
I just ate my last peach of this year. It was actually way past the last….and it set my mood for excogitation. This last peach had the taste of ending. It wasn’t even sweet and juicy and it came from Spain. It didn’t explode in my mouth with the exuberance of summer and suntan lotion. It didn’t take me back to my childhood and my mother, making peach jam and peach chutney. Instead, I mentally experienced the gloomy saying goodbyes after a visit, the reluctant packing up after a glorious holiday, the unsettling sadness of a dry christmas tree.
I didn’t have enough peaches this summer. I should’ve enjoyed it to the full when it was in abundance. This last peach made me once again realize the impact of time on our lives. That we only get one shot at living.
This is a clock my mother left me. I don’t like it, it is plain ugly. But I love it. It carries a beautiful message. Almost a warning. It chimes every 30 minutes and at 12 you litterally have to stop talking to give the clock twelve chimes. Before every chime, there is just the tiniest of warning that it is about to erupt in jubilation; a soft click, so soft you have to be close enough to hear it, you have to almost pay attention. That is just how time is. There are warnings everywhere around us that time is not waiting for us, not giving a second chance, not caring how busy or idle we are. The click is there, we have to pay attention, listen to the 12 chimes; use the silence to think.
Today I’m sad because things end. But I’m also thankful for time. Because time is kind in its cruelty, it is consistent, it doesn’t linger, it can’t be bribed. Because 12 chimes force me to keep quiet and listen and think. About today and about tomorrow. And tomorrow, it forces me to be grateful for new beginnings. Tomorrow it will give me quince instead of peaches.
Both sketches in WC and pen in moleskine
We had art afternoon yesterday – catching up, drinking coffee, eating “organic” cookies, solving all problems; political and religious, laughing at weird people, laughing harder at ourselves, ending in the kitchen with a cup of rooibosch tea, then Casey took off in her brandnew ecofriendly car and I was just plain lazy. Good news was, I didn’t have to fuss about dinner! Since Hartman went back to SC for the whole month of October, I’m off the hook. I got a good tip from Marta, so I stocked up on cereal this morning. I now have dinner until the end of October.
Some garden drawings and sketches I did yesterday afternoon with Casey…see the wonderful sketches she did…”a la Casey”. (I’m not sure she has posted them yet, but I hope this will push her to put them up, they are so good!)
Fountain…this is my pride in my garden, the gargoyle originates from the 10th century, from the chateau de Chauvigny, and Hartman turned it into a fountain as a birthday gift for me… how lackluster would my life be without him…; WC and pen on Fabriano HP, 23 x 30,5 cm (9 x 12″)
Urn in the herb garden; graphite in moleskine
The last apple on the Espalier; graphite and sepia in moleskine.
Like all of us, I have many little joys in life. One of them is to put some flowers in a container and marvel at its beauty. One flower, a whole bunch, a leaf or a branch, they all give pleasure.
For the kitchen; The last of the hydrangeas in an old wash basin. Their colours have turned into an old green, speckled with deep red and a dirty pink.
WC on Fabriano HP, 23 x 30,5 cm ( 9 x 12″)
For the living room; A Huge glass vase overflowing with lilies…
WC on Fabriano CP, 23 x 30,5cm (9 x 12″)
On the outside table; White hyacinths in a soapstone pot..
23 x 30,5 cm (9 x 12″)
And last but not least, some twigs and leaves…done at Casey’s
Pen and WC in moleskine.
Thank you to these nice and creative artists, Claudia, Lin, Diahn, Bonny and Teri, for the following awards;
Read more about the awards here.
I couldn’ fall asleep last night…again. I suppose I’m still on US Eastern time. So I had a coffee and that always gears me into thinking mode.
Nice people. Creative people. All kinds of people. We have them all in our lives.
I have many nice people in my life, inspiring me, encouraging me, pushing me and even sometimes bringing out the best in me by NOT being nice! I’d like to give the Nice matters-award to Tonniece, from tonyzworldofart. Ever since I met her here on the art blogosphere, she has shown me that Nice really Matters. She is from Ontario, Canada and loves reading and drawing, card making and spending time with family.
To sum up creativity for me, I’m taking a quote from Robert Henri’s book, The art spirit: “When the artist(I use creativity) is alive in any person, whatever his kind of work may be, he becomes an inventive, searching, daring, self-expressing creature. He becomes interesting to other people. He disturbs, upsets, enlightens, and he opens ways for a better understanding. The world would stagnate without him and the world would be beautiful with him, for he is interesting to himself and he is interesting to others.” The Creative blogger-award I would like to give to Sarah, from biteyourowntail. She lives in the UK and being the creative person I think she is, she loves to experiment, among other things, which you’ll see on her blog.
So, I raise my coffee and I drink to all people nice and creative….well, actually, I would like to raise my cup and simply drink to all kinds of people!
I welcome you to the new Africantapestry!
I’m looking forward to trying all new things on this blog and I hope you’ll hop on up along for the ride.
My email, as well as my name “Africantapestry” will stay the same. The only thing that will change is my sign-in name, which will be from now on “Myfrenchkitchen”. You’ll probably notice it on the comments I leave…I’ll still be me though! I only have one account now for both my foodblog(myfrenchkitchen) and my artblog(Africantapestry)
So, here I am, busy unpacking my art stuff and starting fresh!
See you soon!
Africantapestry 
