Painting in South Africa

Southern Cape. We were loaned a house on the beech near Misty Cliffs at a place called Scarborough. It is interesting how many places have English and Irish names. There was a place not far away called Bantry, which is about 60 miles west of Cork in the South of Ireland. There were many. That was a beautiful place. A little windy, and the water on that side of the Cape was cold. Too cold for swimming. But we watch many sky boarders ripping along the water and then being lifted into the sky.

One night we went out for something to eat to a nearby restaurant. On our way back we saw a lot of activity on the beach. We went down to look. It was crowded with people. This was a rare event when the Dolphins hunt the smaller fish into the shore, and they in turn hunt the sardines on to the beach. It is a feast and it occurs about once in four years. Such excitement. A little boy diving into the water and coming out with a sardine in each hand. Two other boys with a towel which they lowered under the surface of the water and scooped up a towel full of sardines. There were people with buckets, and anything that would hold fish. Some dug basins in the sand and filled them. Then there were the birds flying back and forth, then diving and gorging. Everyone was gorging. The big boys came in close too and we could see the dolphins breaking through the green waves. There were so many small fish on the shore line that it was black while further out it was green.

On another visit to that magnificent country, we flew into Johannesberg. From there we drove most of the day going East toward Durban. But we turned off long before there. We went into an area where there were a lot of safaris. We stayed in Unzolozolo. It was small, very nice, and well run. It was a trip of a life time. Outside the huts was a pond, and sometimes the animals came up to drink. We saw Kudus there, and many others who were fleet of foot.

This was a hot place. Temperatures were in the upper 30's and even touching 40 degrees Celsius. I wanted to paint the heat. I had painted in Spain and Greece before in very hot weather, but this was quite different. I had never experienced anything like it before or since. It was very dry. The land was very parched. There were some roads, hedges, and trees. There were rocks, white and slightly violet.

I found a place on the walkway around the campus. There was a hot tub, without water, and that was a comfortable place to sit and set up. I did the picture called Umbiti Plateau. It is one that I really like.