Is this art?

 Today Mandi is twelve years old.

 For the last month she was planning this cake. She thinks big… A Topsy turvy cake it will be! But… by ten o’clock last night our cake was lying in pieces. Top heavy… Icing was too heavy… With long faces we went to bed.
This morning early we got up and used all our artistic skills. : ) With more icing sugar we glued it together. A few toothpicks to hold some pieces. Then hoping it will just stay in place till the party starts.

desperate measures… please don’t fall…

It didn’t fall…

And now, she and her friends are having fun… singing, laughing, swimming… The cake has been cut and we only remember the fun we had creating this ‘artwork’. We can add this to the memories we have of all our previous works of art.

2006

2008

2007

This was our art for the week. And this time next year we’ll do cake art again. : )

 

Oudtshoorn

Once every year we have a trip to Oudtshoorn for a gymnastics competition.  Normally in the middle of winter, so this year it was strange to be there in October. All the gardens were full of roses and beaugainvillas flowering.

Oudtshoorn is known for ostrich farming. Most of the beautiful old houses were build in the ostrich feather boom around 1880.

beaugainvillas…

Langenhoven wrote the words of our national anthem (long ago). He lived in Oudtshoorn.

You can buy ostrich feathers in any form… 

 

Aloe in Randburg

Our holiday in Pretoria had an unexpected end. Our car’s water pump broke on the day we were suppose to leave… but, to just give you the end of a long story, we got to spend the weekend with friends, Elsabe and Ernst!

A wonderful weekend with two people who really know how to make you feel welcome!

On Saturday morning I made a sketch of Ernst’s aloes. I gave him the sketch and it was a small thanks to all the kindness we received from them!!

Aloes…

rotring pen

Kroonstad

Last Thursday we left for Pretoria. A very long drive from Cape Town!
On the way here we stayed over in Kroonstad in the Free State and were spoiled at Elana’s beautiful guest house, Lamon

Lamon…

NG Kerk Kroonstad

Done with rotring pen.

 

Forgiven

I wasn’t sure whether I should post this, because I copied another artist’s work – I didn’t know that at first! But I will see this as an exercise and it is not a painting I will sell!

Our youth pastor gave me a picture he got from the internet. He wanted it in a painting, but more modern and colourful, because it illustrates so perfectly what Jesus Christ had done for us.

 I had no idea how to do it, because I normally just do an exact version of what I see. So I tried to do it more ”painterly” – as my first art teacher would call it. You put down the paint and then leave it! And don’t fiddle again!

But when I wanted to put it on my blog, I googled the image and saw that it was a painting I worked from. I really thought it was a photograph. That tells you a lot about the original artist. It is a painting done by Thomas Blackshear, an american artist.  Here is the original artwork.

So, this is just my version of someone else’s beautiful work of art.  

after Thomas Blackshear…

”While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5: 8