Wednesday, May 23, 2007

news........and more arty-farties

Hi, just a quick update on some of this week's events in the Eastern Cape.......

Winter arrived, not with a whimper but a bang.... after roasting our way through 31degree C days last week, we suddenly had our coldest day since 1955 on Monday, and yesterday was only 1 degree warmer. It has been great if, like me, you are one of those freaks who thrive on foul weather!
We went to the Port again this weekend, and met up with Max's sister and her husband there, it was good to be able to spend time with them. On Saturday the weather was glorious, and the sunrise great.
We watched the Super14 rugby final (Max was the only bulls supporter at the pub we watched it in, so I'm sure I do not need to describe the painful crowing that went on when they scored in the final minute, and beat the Sharks by a hair!!!) That evening it was so lovely, so after sunset we went for a walk at the lighthouse.
There were photography fanatics all over the place!!!


By Sunday, we awoke to a very different picture!
Cold, wet, and gale force winds.
We went and returned via the Maitlands River mouth, which is a beautiful unspoilt beach about 20km from PE. On the way there it was sunny and stunning,
on the way back the sand was blowing across the beach in streams, very beautiful but most unpleasant to stand around in!

The wind was so strong that the rain was horizontal and this poor guy had to hold his umbrella in front of him to keep dry!

2 massive cold fronts swept across the country, resulting in nearly all the road passes through the southern and eastern mountains being closed by snow. Sadly quite a few people have died of exposure throughout the Eastern Cape.

There was such a heavy hail storm in Plettenberg Bay that it looked like it had snowed.

Speaking of Plett, there was a cool incident there this week, a helicopter pilot was taking a honeymoon couple for a flip, and they spotted a 3.5metre long great white shark, checking out a pair of surfers. They went low and waved to the surfers to warn them, but the guys thought they were just being friendly, and waved back! By now the shark was getting even closer, so the pilot swooped down and used his roter wash to frighten the shark away. Luckily the honeymooners had the presence of mind to catch a photo of the shark and the surfers, if you look carefully you can see a reflection of the rotor blade too! I lifted this photo from pprune, (the pilots chat forum) where one of the guys kindly posted it. Well done that chopper pilot, there are times when going below authorised height is justified, and I think potentially saving the lives of a couple of surfers qualifies!
We even had a little hail ourselves last night ....This was the stunning view from our dining room window this morning!
And as promised, here are more of the new paintings, as you can see it's been a busy and productive week! :
sailing, 900x1100

baobab3 600x500
kokerboom, namaqualand, 400x500
old shopfronts, central, 300x300
terrace cottages, richmond hill, 300x300
cora terrace, central, 300x300
richmond hill terrace, winter 300x300
wave 400x400 (this is another of my wax experiments)
farm near knysna, 600x500

swellendam farm with sheep 500x400
flowers on windowsill, 400x500
irises on windowsill 300x300
contemplation 300x600
beach outing 300x300
and Portuguese church 700x900 (again thanks to Sheila for the photo inspiration!)
Cheers for now...............






7 comments:

RUTH said...

A lively news roundup. Sad to hear about the lives lost due to the cold weather. Great paintings...you have been busy. I do like the "wave" one...would look lovely on my bedroom wall.

Sheila said...

Suzi, these paintings are wonderful!
Some of your work reminds me of a Group of Seven (Canadian) artist..Lawren Harris.
I really love Richmond Hill Terrace,Irises on Windowsill, and Beach Outing. All fabulous.
The one of Portugal is terrific and really captures the feel of the place.
Hooray for the helicopter pilot, how lucky those surfers were..!

Shirley Goodwin said...

Suzi, I was going to comment on your lovely photos ( as usual!)but I love your paintings! More please!

Anonymous said...

Hi Suzi, I love some of your painting and I really enjoy reading your blog. Nice to see how others live so far away and it really isn't so different from here. Any idea how much shipping would be to Canada for some of your paintings?
Kelly

Suzi-k said...

cThanks for the encouraging response to the latest work, good to get feedback!
Hi Kelley, nice to "meet" you!
I'll look into those shipping costs on Monday, and am busy setting up a seperate art blog and registering on Paypal etc, so watch this space for details!

Suzi-k said...

Ok Kelley, after much research, i can give you some idea of postage. I worked on one of the larger painting sizes, to get a sort of 'wosrt case scenario'. And I worked on Ontario in Canada, it would obviously change a bit from place to place, and depending on the size of the painting, but here goes:
I first contacted my courier, and nearly popped an artery when they told me the price was $790! Next came Fedex, $540, or, if i remove the wooden frame and send it rolled in a tube, $290. I then decided to try the post office, (it is a little riskier, they are known to lose things here) but it was $80. They go by weight, not volume, so a bunch of smaller pix together in one parcel would also be about the same price. If you are interested, e-mail me on sue@elgecko.co.za with details of which town you are in and which paintings you like, and i will get a firm quote for you.

Caren McNee said...

Love your paintings and thoroughly enjoyed reading through your blog! Confessing to sighing here and there wishing I was there too:)
*Smiles*
Caren in NZ (ex-ZA)