Tag: Sabine

Calla Curls

Calla Curls has been an experiment. After I painted “A Lily for Mom“, I wanted to do something different and try my hand at a more abstract project. So I took a beautiful photograph showing three white calla lilies and distorted it. My first attempts at distortion did, however, not yield the desired results: the distortion seemed overdone as it represented nothing more than some odd curvy shapes in various tones of white and yellow. I realised then that while I wished to paint something abstract that I still needed to maintain a connection to reality to stay within “my creative comfort zone”.  The result is Calla Curls, an abstract version of one calla lily that I modelled by “liquifying and twirling” the photograph of three flowers of the same kind. If you look closely, you can still see them …

IMG_0353
Calla Curls, 2019, Acrylic on Canvas, 36×48″

 

 

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A Lily for Mom

A Lily For Mom
A Lily for Mom, 2019, Acrylic on Canvas, 40×40″

Vivid colors symbolising life and happiness. I dedicated this painting to my mom who sadly passed away earlier this year. She loved lilies, although she always dreaded the mess the flower’s anthers tended to create when they were left “unattended”. She usually removed the anthers from the stamens as soon as a flower had opened up.

The reference picture to this painting actually shows a white lily which was part of a magnificent bouquet that I had received years ago from a friend after the birth of my youngest daughter.

 

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Ayanda

I did this painting of an African wild dog (based on one of my pictures taken in Ngala, South Africa) already back in December. I needed a proper Christmas gift for my husband and so I decided to quickly put something together. “Ayanda” took me a total of 5 days … which was definitely much faster than expected. But house guests from overseas were about to arrive only days later, so I was short on time and just needed to “get it done”.

1-Ayanda 2018
Ayanda, 2018, Arcylic on Canvas, 48×36″

Why a wild dog? They are my favorite animals. They are fast, determined, successful, social, playful, gorgeous and unfortunately very rare. They are also known as painted hunting dog, painted wolf, African hunting dog or African painted dog. “The 2016 population was estimated at roughly 39 subpopulations containing 6,600 adults, only 1,400 of which were reproductive. The decline of these populations is ongoing, due to habitat fragmentation, human persecution and disease outbreaks.” Wikipedia. 

Why “Ayanda”? This is actually the beautiful name of a very nice staff member at the Mountain Lodge at Phinda, SA …

I am very happy that the painting was finished on time and I hope that it does sufficient justice to this wonderful animal.

Cheers, Sabine

 

 

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Where are the kids?

I took a photograph of the Red-billed Hornbills a few years back when we visited Botswana’s Okavango Delta. The birds are not only extremely beautiful, but also quite entertaining. When searching for a motive for a new painting I recently stumbled over that picture and thought, “why not”? The composition looked interesting to me and as I hadn’t done birds in quite some time, I gave it a go. As usual, I was short of time: I had only 4 days left and the canvas turned out to be pretty big!!!

On day 2, my daughter Isabella took a quick look at the work-in-progress and said: “You know what? These two guys look pretty much like you and daddy!” She clarified, the one to the right would be my husband. No doubt about it as its beak (-> nose) is much bigger than that of its partner … I initially laughed it off, continued to paint, but then started thinking. … Yes, she got a point … Those two hornbills really looked a bit like we must have looked like when trying to locate our three young daughters who had a tendency to disappear at the most inopportune times: on airports, in restaurants, in shopping malls, you name it.

So, that’s where the title comes from. If you look carefully, you may even spot the kids. (Hint: there are three of them hidden in the green foliage, and they are only symbolically represented) …

Hope you like it!

Cheers, Sabine

 

red billed hornbills, Botswana, Sandibe, Safari
WHERE ARE THE KIDS? 2018 Acrylic on Canvas, 47×47″
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Pink Briar

It is now almost 4 years ago that I did my last flower painting. Hard to believe … but time really flies. Finally, last week, I had both the time and found myself motivated enough to embark on a new flower project. The motive? A rose. The color scheme? Pink. The reference? A photograph of one particularly gorgeous specimen growing right in front of our house. The original rose has actually a dark red/burgundy type of hue … but since the painting will hang in my daughter Bella’s “pink-themed” bedroom, I changed that to make it match. In the end, I used two main colors – a medium magenta and a dark carmine red – to bring to life the intricate shapes of the petals. The generous use of black in combination with a few white highlights support the illusion of 3-dimensionality I was after.

 

Pink Briar
PINK BRIAR, 2017, Acrylic on Canvas, 40×40″

 

I can happily report that Bella is looking forward to hanging it in her room. A friend of mine actually commented,

Lucky Bella, there is so much of her in there and I believe she will feel your love because that is what I see.  She is in there, all her beauty and softness.

What a lovely comment … (thanks, Sandra!) 🙂

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… and here comes the prey

While people may not think that general game such as zebras, antelopes, or giraffes are quite as spectacular as the Big 5, I beg to differ. Yes, they are ubiquitous, but that does not make them any less interesting. We saw them fiercely fighting for dominance, standing around looking cute, running from predators, joyfully jumping about in the water, daring a pride of lions (giraffes can be incredibly stupid!), nursing their young and peacefully grazing. Without them, Africa wouldn’t be the same.

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Predators

They are scary, impressive and magnificent, nonetheless, there are times when they can be outright cute. Below, I would like to share a few of those moments with you.

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The Beauty of Birds in Flight

Birds in flight are fascinating me. The way they spread their feathers, stretch their delicate bodies and show off the beautiful colors and patterns of their plumage – it’s simply mind-boggling. On our last trip to Africa I set out to focus more on capturing this momentary beauty. Enjoy!

 

birds-in-flight-yellow-billed-kite
Yellow-billed Kite
birds-in-flight-yellow-billed-kite2
Yellow-billed Kite
birds-in-flight-woodland-kingfisher
Woodland Kingfisher
birds-in-flight-southern-carmine-bee-eater
Southern Carmine Bee-Eater
birds-in-flight-red-billed-hornbill
Southern Red-billed Hornbill
birds-in-flight-marabou-stork
Marabou Stork
birds-in-flight-lilac-breasted-roller
Lilac-breasted Roller
birds-in-flight-fork-tailed-drongo
Fork-tailed Drongo
birds-in-flight-european-roller
European Roller
birds-in-flight-egyptian-geese
Egyptian Geese
birds-in-flight-coppery-tailed-coucal
Coppery-tailed Coucal
birds-in-flight-african-fish-eagle
African Fish Eagle

 

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Brothers

As 2016 is quickly coming to a close, I decided it’s now or never: Let’s paint one more piece!

Now after a 3 1/2 day marathon of painting, I am happy to report that I can add “Brothers” to my collection. The painting is based on a picture I took about two years ago in Phinda, SA. The two young lions looked extremely elegant when they slowly made their way down the steep dam. I planned to turn that shot into a painting for a long time. Happy it finally happened!

brothers-2016
Brothers, 2016, Acrylic on Canvas, 48×36″
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The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

-> The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

Some of them creep you out, others may even kill you. Yet – it’s hard to resist their eery beauty. I never get anywhere close to them … Thus, when it comes to taking pics of spiders, snakes, and similar creatures, a long lens comes in quite handy.

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