So I guess now I am a painter!

I come from a very artistic family however I have never really made time for myself to enjoy the arts. I have always wanted to take painting classes so I could learn how to paint properly however I could never afford to. It was when I was walking around in George one day that I discovered painting classes tucked away in a tiny walkway. How exciting, I can finally afford to learn painting because of the wonderful exchange rate! I have painted three paintings to date, each of them given to someone special to me. I really enjoy painting and then sharing them with someone. Most people here have nothing on their walls and to give them a hand made painting is really quite an extraordinary gift. Below are my paintings, they bring me a lot of joy and i hope they make you smile too.

My very first oil painting ever, I think it turned out really nicely! It actually looks much better in real life than this picture because the flash washed out most of the shading and detail but I think you get the idea.

This is the second oil painting that I did, it actually turned out to be very difficult but I am still happy with it. I was inspired by a trip that I did to Zanzibar in 2006. I found this lovely cafe in Stone Town and as I ate my lunch I gazed out over the ocean and watched the children swimming in the Indian Ocean. The original photograph is below and my rendition is above.

I became friends with a lovely couple from Ethiopia who live here in South Africa. They recently opened a tiny restaurant and I wanted to surprise them with a gift so I found a piece of Ethiopian Orthodox art and painted it for them. This is my favorite painting that I have ever done, not just because I am proud of it but always because there is a lot of meaning in this piece. Above is my painting, and below is the original. Who would have ever guessed that I would ever paint religous art ha ha, but it turns out that I am good at it!

My fabulous art teachers, to the right is my teacher Marty, and to my left is the lovely Esther who assits in running the shop.