The 2025 collection is somewhat eclectic.

The watercolour journey in 2024 meandered. There was back-tracking. But on this quest even backwards is forward. All is well. And I created some of my best work.

Many of these watercolours began with a sketch on site. The gift is seeing what is there, perhaps for the first time.

And here it is.

Since 2020 I have created a calendar based on the watercolour collection I produced in the year. This all began in 2019. I was approached by The Friends of Radloff Park to offer watercolours for their annual calendar. I sent them some jpgs of work I had completed along the river. I also set out to create a few more paintings before the calendar was to be produced. I had been painting watercolours along the river bank for a while. But for the first time I experienced the rush of initiating a collection. Well… I did not really think of it as a collection then. I just wanted to create this portfolio from which the group could create their calendar. I remember walking along the river with my mate Mike, who records the guitar music for my newsletters, taking photos of possible scenes.

Here is some of the work I offered to the Friends back then:

OK – I think these are quite neat. And I was excited about the prospect. But the Friends chose not to use my work. In fact they did not create a calendar that year. And this triggered in me an “OK I will create a better selection” response.

Over the course of 2020 I spent my time looking at scenes, painting at the river and taking photos to create a portfolio of watercolours all about Radloff Park. I wanted to make good offer to the Friends for 2021. Then the whole world was put under house-arrest. I had completed a consulting project in Lesotho early in 2020. Facilitating Strategy Conversations was my core source of income at the time.

Two weeks to “flatten the curve” turned into three months. I had re-designed and rewritten all of my material for strategy workshops. I was ready to launch “The Works”. My consulting offer is called StrategyWorks and I was saying “Do you want ‘The Works’ well – here is ‘The Works'” – my little marketing joke.

About then I realised two things: First I said to Aura “This lockdown is going to last longer than we thought”. I could also see that I could not facilitate workshops online. There were tools for this. But it would require my clients to buy the package and still it would be tough. In my workshops I spend much of the time walking to the different tables in the room, listening to the conversations, suggesting directions and being called across to other groups to answer questions. In the best zoom sessions, there were sound problems, disincarnation issues and I saw people dissapearing because of local bandwidth issues. So I contracted with Aura to build my brand as a watercolourist.

My focus on the watercolours for Radloff Park went up a notch. I thought “calendar”. But my friend Jonathan suggested I change my perspective from the merchanidise to the “Collection”. And it was a great collection. Some of my best watercolours ever. You can see the collection by gently pressing the button below:

Therefore I spent a good deal of 2020 creating a collection of watercolours all about Radloff Park.

When the collection was complete I sent a note to the Friends of Radloff Park. I let them know their portfolio for 2021 was complete. Though I tried different ways to communicate with them nobody responded. October drew to a close. I decided to do it myself. I created a calendar in PowerPoint. I found a printer who gave me a quote for 200 calendars and put in an order.

As we paid the deposit Aura sent me off to Radloff Park with a draft calendar and a sign-up list to sell my calendars. I remember walking along the river praying “Lord I can’t do this – I hate selling – please help me” (but in angry, frustrated voice). Eventually I found an ideal place to set up. You can see the place in the painting about the poplar copse. It was down a gabion slope and behind the willow tree in the painting. I suppose I could have found an even better hiding place, but this was quite good.

I was putting up my easel to lay out my wares when I heard a voice “Vot are you doing there????” I looked up to see a spritely and imperious older lady. She asked again “Vot are you doing?” So I said I was selling calendars and she started down the bank. I said I would rather come up to her as the way down was a bit tricky. So I took all my stuff back up the gabion slope (to where everyone was passing as they walked their dogs). She looked through my calendar and ordered a whole lot. The game was afoot. She also buttonholed all the passers-by and got them to sign up. So that is my selling story.

Oh yes she also said “I thought you were fishing”. To which I almost replied “I was” but chose not to. I guess I am at last developing some humility. And wisdom. At long last.

Here is the cover of the calendar.

I was quite pleased with the layout of the calendar. You can see the watercolours included in the calendar at the link below:

As the calendars sold I started to think about a project for next year. I received a very nice email from Amanda who said she was doing marketing for Patch Helderberg Child Abuse Centre. I had a look at their site and was horrified by what I read. Child abuse is rampant. So I called her for a cup of coffee. We decided to put together a calendar project for the next year. Amanda selected a bunch of watercolours from my stock and I worked to complete some centre pieces. Amanda was a mover and shaker – a mix between a ship in full sail and a whirlwind. I sometimes referred to her as Amandla.

We had an exhibition to launch the project and at the end of 2021 an exhibition in two venues (ja I know – not a brilliant strategy) to launch sales of the calendar.

Here is the cover of the calendar and below that button you can select to see a posting about the paintings in the portfolio.

As 2022 drew to a close I found myself standing at the river selling calendars again. But I also began thinking about the next calendar project.  I started talking with the Lourens River Conservation Society about a watercolour project. I had been chatting with Jan Tromp whose father had established the society back in 1980. As we put together an agreement I started work on the watercolours.

I also started offering businesses pages to sponsor.  But selling individual pages is a massive project.  During one presentation in a boardroom a client asked “Can’t we have a whole calendar for ourselves?  We want to give this to our clients as an end-of-year gift if you can put our logo on each page.”  An entrepreneurial light flicked on in my brain.  At last a merchandising offer.

I sold batches of calendars to three companies.

Here is the cover of the 2023 calendar I created.

In 2023 I worked on a watercolour collection all about False Bay.

At the end of the year I presented a collection of all my work at an exhibition in the White Wine Cellar at Lanzerac Wine Estate.

The cover for the calendar included the large scale painting of puddle rock.