What are you up to?

[Desforges]

My dear friend passed away a couple of hours ago. I had a chance to see him last Saturday to say goodbye.

 

[john]

Sorry for your loss Desforges.

 

[Artyczar]

I'm so sorry Jocelyne. I'm glad you got to say goodbye. You are in my thoughts and my heart.

 

[joe1It]

I am very sorry for your loss, heartfelt condolences, a hug.
glad you were able to meet him to say goodbye.

 

[Desforges]

Robert was the friend that everyone needed, brilliant, generous and funny. I already miss him.
Now he is free from pain.

 

[brianvds]

Gecko on the other side of a pane of frosted glass.

 

[snoball]

Jocelyne, I'm so sorry to hear of your friend passing.

 

[ntl]

I'm sorry for your loss Desforges. He was a good friend.

 

[brianvds]

Haven't visited my local wilderness area for a while. After good summer rains, it is quite lush now...

Wildflowers:

Blesbok:

They had babies earlier in the year:

Flower with beetle:

And a Leonotis flower - these were used by indigenous people as mild euphoriant, similar to, but not as potent, as marijuana. No, I haven't tried it myself:

And I made time for a little mini-painting:

I'm new to painting outside like this, so a rather nervous attempt.

 

[E.J.H.]

It's a lovely little painting. I am trying to get myself to start painting plein air, share your nervousness about it.
At the moment I have a reasonable excuse; it's bloody cold outside (yes I am a tiny bit jealous of that nice weather....), and snowing.
Ah well, could be worse, the other side of the island is shaking, and geologists think there is magma on its way up.

 

[snoball]

Thanks for sharing Brian, it's likely the only way I'll ever get to visit your fascinating country. And I like your "nervous attempt", lovely little mini.

 

[Artyczar]

I love your flower! And your pictures Brian. It's really a lovely stylized piece. You shouldn't be nervous about it because it turned out great.

 

[john]

Nice Brian. Looks a little different than around here. Nice little painting. I'm new to plein air also. It is a little intimidating at first but once you get painting it gets easier. You may want to check out the Plein Air podcast. It's done by the publisher of Plein Air magazine and he interviews successful plein air artists. Also talks about marketing stuff.

 

[brianvds]

Nice Brian. Looks a little different than around here. Nice little painting. I'm new to plein air also. It is a little intimidating at first but once you get painting it gets easier. You may want to check out the Plein Air podcast. It's done by the publisher of Plein Air magazine and he interviews successful plein air artists. Also talks about marketing stuff.

Plein air is something of a marketing strategy in itself, particularly around here where it is almost unknown, and you are thus likely to attract a crowd if you paint outside (In more than five decades of existence, I have only once seen a person paint plein air here). But of course, the crowd also makes it a nerve-racking exercise.

So for the moment I work small and try to remain unobserved, to give me some time to get used to it and get past that fumbling-with-the-materials phase. When they finally see me paint, I'll exude the confidence of a master.

 

[brianvds]

It's a lovely little painting. I am trying to get myself to start painting plein air, share your nervousness about it.
At the moment I have a reasonable excuse; it's bloody cold outside (yes I am a tiny bit jealous of that nice weather....), and snowing.
Ah well, could be worse, the other side of the island is shaking, and geologists think there is magma on its way up.

Which island would that be?

Anyway, I am always in two minds about the climate here. Many in Europe envy us, but summers here can be absolutely brutal, at least to my mind. We were lucky this summer: lots of rain, and mostly fairly cool or pleasantly warm weather. Some years we go through drought: months and months and months of relentless, humid heat with virtually no rain. When that happens I feel like emigrating to Ireland or somewhere.

I find the plein air thing interesting: it is really very different from working from a photo, and even from an indoor still life setup. In general I like it: it feels more like creation and less like copying.

 

[E.J.H.]

The island is called Iceland. Moved here from my country of birth, the Netherlands about 25 years ago. Where are you excactly, judging by the fauna on your pics somewhere in Africa?
Climate here can be brutal too, but on the other side of the spectrum, especially blizzards can be fierce. But I am thankfull, had the climate been milder there would be millions living here....
I just hear on the radio that there are emergency meetings going on; that row of earthquakes most likely turns out to be the precursor of a vulcanic eruption, they expect it in the next couple of hours, maybe days. But in all likelihood no catastrophic one.

 

[brianvds]

The island is called Iceland. Moved here from my country of birth, the Netherlands about 25 years ago.

Ah, okay, that would explain the volcanoes and earthquakes, though I get the impression absolutely massive ones are actually rare, perhaps precisely because smaller ones are so frequent - earth gets a chance to blow off some steam, so to speak. I wouldn't last long - learning Icelandic would be the end of me.

Where are you excactly, judging by the fauna on your pics somewhere in Africa?

South Africa, to be precise; near Pretoria, to be more precise.

Climate here can be brutal too, but on the other side of the spectrum, especially blizzards can be fierce. But I am thankfull, had the climate been milder there would be millions living here....

True that - if you want peace and quiet, go live near the arctic or in a desert. You'll get it either way.

I just hear on the radio that there are emergency meetings going on; that row of earthquakes most likely turns out to be the precursor of a vulcanic eruption, they expect it in the next couple of hours, maybe days. But in all likelihood no catastrophic one.

Let's hope for the best. But something people don't realize: real stability doesn't look like stability, and that is often true both in nature and in human affairs. Constant but manageable levels of volatility often lead to better long term stability, than trying to avoid any and all variability.

 

[Artyczar]

Seems we get a lot of earthquakes here in the last couple years we moved out here. Not huge or anything, but the ground seems to be letting off steam, so to speak. Seems more often than in LA proper, but it could be that we feel them more here since it's so much more calm in general. We also don't live too far from a military base and they sometimes test bombs/explosions, so those can rattle our windows at times and feel like little earthquakes, but there is an obvious difference. So much for "peace and quiet" in the desert (at times).

 

[Maybenartist]

Looks like you had a great time in the wilderness, Brian. Nice to see animals and flowers that are native to other continents. The painting is good and all the better that it was spontaneously done.

 

[Maybenartist]

Where I live there is not much sunshine lately, but I often walk with my small grandsons by the sea or in the countryside. They have problems keeping up with me though.