Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Chez moi

When I was in Cape Town, I couldn't understand why I ever left. When I was in Zimbabwe, I wanted to up stakes and move there. But now I am home and energized from my holiday.

Last night the life drawing group convened for our Monday session after a long pause. My first effort was rubbish but the second one is better.

I have a writer in my Winter Cottage for a month, working on a book on Daniel Defoe, and was able to persuade her to pose for us.

A student last year told me she had a teacher who worked only with square brushes. I have never worked with a square brush before, so tried it. Square brush strokes tend to give a nice strong angular effect and I could see why one would get fussy students fiddling around with little brushes to use them.

I need to rework the neck to more clearly define her pearls on the right, which are blending into the neck to make it too wide. Then I think I will be happy.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Worudzi- the whistler

People keep telling me how lucky I am to live in France and are totally unsympathetic to any woes, groans, kvetches, etc emanating from moi. Well let me tell you that winter in a draughty cold stone barn when the temperatures plummet to -19C and all you have to heat the joint is a small woodstove is no picnic.

I have just come home after two weeks in Zimbabwe and believe me, forget what the newspapers have to say, it's definitely the destination of choice in February. Cape Town ain't too bad neither.

These photos were swiped from my sister's website, except for the one of the penguins which was taken with my point&shoot. Rex, the lion, grew up in Vanessa's house with two other young female cubs.

My brother-in-law, who speaks fluent Venda, tells me that the farm workers call me Worudzi because I am always whistling. Kind of cool.