3D

When the Monday night life drawing group started up four years ago, I was doing what I referred to as Boudoir Haiku, very simple drawings with watercolour washes.  Then I discovered white paint and big brushes and am discovering form using large strokes of gouache. I am now thinking that I would love to start modeling in clay again to really explore the third dimension. Here are four sketches from last night's class.

Circling

Friends surprised me this morning at ten to find me in bed. Very embarrassing as I had turned down their dinner invitation because I have an end of April deadline to finish a book.

I explained that I need to faff around  most of the day before the panic builds up and I am able to overcome the negative magnetic field repulsing any approach towards my drawing table.  I don't know why this happens. Once I actually start working I really enjoy it, but this happens day after day, and then I work until three or four in the morning.  One of my friends compared it with a bitch needing to circle and circle relentlessly before giving birth to a litter of puppies.  OK, I can relate to that.

This is an illustration for the book, Ready and Waiting, for Eerdman's. I haven't quite worked out how to resolve the faces and wish I could leave them blank, but the editors will have none of it.

Piazzolla and pizza

Fabulous drawing evening last night. We had the lovely Marie-Camille down from Paris posing for us. She came in a silky short black chiffon dress, her long legs in black stockings, and set it all off with a large flower pinned in her hair which was always the first thing I drew. She slowly danced, occasionally freezing in a position, to Piazzolla, Tiersen, and Laya Chithra while we all sketched frantically.

At our break Daniel, our mayor, disappeared and returned five minutes later with two hot pizzas for us to munch on with our wine. The Rignac Café is serving pizza every Monday night.

Olé!

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.

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.