Day 2 Namibia Impressions 2, Save the Rhino fundraising 30 paintings in 30

Namibia Impressions 2, Swakopmund Fog 2

Oil palette knife painting

30x30cm (12x12inches) on 3mm MDF canvas panel

Available 200 euro, international shipping included

50% of the sale goes to the Save the Rhino Trust 

who patrol and monitor the desert adapted black rhinos of the Namib desert

The second painting of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge is a sister painting to yesterday's post.

Each morning around Walvis Bay and Swakopmund the mist coming off the sea gave the area a soft feel so different to the harsh desert landscape.

I blended the paint to give a smooth base and then place paletteknife-fulls of paint over the smooth underpainting to add contrast and texture.

Close-up 

 

Day 1 Namibia Impressions 1, Save the Rhino fundraising 30 paintings in 30

 

Namibia Impressions 1, Swakopmund Fog

Oil palette knife painting

30x30cm (12x12inches) on 3mm MDF canvas panel

Available 

50% of the sale goes to the Save the Rhino Trust who patrol and monitor the desert adapted black rhinos of the Namib desert

My first paintings are abstracts representing my feelings of Namibia.

Close up

 

Namibia Impressions Fund Raising 30 paintings in 30 days

After spending some time in the Desert Rhino Camp earlier this year, I have a fondness for the desert-adapted black rhino. They live in a desolate area in the North-west of Namibia and are monitored and protected by the rangers of the Save the Rhino Trust. They are highly endangered and face a constant threat of extinction due poaching. The Save the Rhino Trust does a great job with minimum resources.

FUND RAISING
To help raise awareness and raise funds for the hard working rangers I will be participating in Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days starting on the 1st September. Each day for the next 30 days, I will post a painting. Half of all sales will go to the trust and I hope to raise a minimum of US$2000 - So please spread the word and help the cause. In a world where many of our animals are disappearing, every bit of help is an advance.

From the Save the Rhino Trust website

"SRT protecting Namibia's rhinos for more than 30 years

Save the Rhino Trust Namibia has worked tirelessly to protect the desert-adapted black rhino of the Kunene and Erongo regions.From the point of near extinction, the rhino population has rebounded, and SRT is proud to be part of this success.

SRT operates in a remote, rugged area of more than a million hectares, with few fences, no national park status and no controls over who goes in or out.  Working closely with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, local communities and NGOs, our dedicated teams of trackers go out on daily patrols to monitor this last truly free-ranging population of black rhino in the world.

But there is no time for complacency. Organized crime syndicates are here, acting with military precision and targeting our rhinos, and we are intensifying our efforts in the face of this grave threat."

  

River Stones 2 palette knife painting

River Stones 2 oil palette knife painting

6x6" on 1.5cm gallery wrapped canvas

Available

Apologies for my absence from blogging. Summer is a hiatus for me where painting is concerned as we have lots of visitors and my granddaughter comes to stay. Add to that, builders at the beginning of summer and maybe you will forgive me.

About this painting
A small stream near home that turns into a raging river after storms and when the ice in the mountains melt. The level can rise by about 4 metres. It is so hard to photograph the blues and turquoises to give the true colours of the painting, but it looks better in real life.

How it looks displayed on a mini easel

I will try to post my long awaited report about the plein air workshop I attended in the French Alps with Richard Robinson over the next couple of days.

Come paint with me! and what not to do when plein air painting.

I'm starting to get excited. I am going on a week long workshop in the French Alps at the end of next week with Richard Robinson a New Zealand painter whose painting style I admire. It is essentially plein air (outside) painting. I've never really got into the swing of painting outside away from my garden so this is going to be a new learning experience.

So I have started kitting myself out for the adventure - plein aire easel, rucksack with a seat, water-soluble oil paints etc, etc.

To practice and test my set up, we set off at 530 am on Wednesday morning to drive up our local mountain (1000m) to catch the sunrise and paint. My husband did the driving and brought the hot water and coffee to supply me with my usual morning pick-me-up.  We had a 15minute walk to the spot I wanted and I managed fine with the rucksack.

I set up the equipment

to paint this view. (sorry terrible pic)

and what is one of the most important things to remember? DON'T FORGET THE WHITE PAINT!

I couldn't believe it. After all my planning, to do something so daft. Definitely a senior moment!

So I drank my coffee and blocked in the painting. Then packed up and came home. It was good practice setting up and packing up and I now know how my easel folds together.

The expressionist painting at the top was what I achieved on site. I have worked on it somemore and shall take a photo for tomorrows post, along with some of my other home-made gear.

Evening Shadows over the vineyard palette knife painting

Evening Shadows over the Vineyard

Palette knife painting

Oil on 3mm MDF canvas panel

Available

The late afternoon sun was shining from the trees to the left of the vineyard casting long dark shadows.

A sister painting to yesterday's vineyard painting see here


Some close-ups of the knife work

How it looks displayed on a mini-easel

Vineyard painting - Waiting for the Bees

Waiting for the Bees - Provence vineyard painting

Oils, palette knife

18x24cm (approx. 7"x10") on 3 mm MDF canvas panels.
Available

You may have noticed that I like painting vineyards. (As an aside - I also like drinking the end product, always in moderation of course!). They always make for an interesting painting with the lines of the vines taking your eye through the painting. Care has to be taken that you don't created tramlines and very straight lines that don't allow the eye to rest and explore.



Close-up of the palette knife work

How it would look displayed on a mini-easel