As Spring breaks out here in The Cape watercolour has begun to flow again.
At last.
It has been a long dry season.

And now there is progress to report.

Therefore
My invitation to you is to
Sit back

Close your eyes and take a deep breath
Now
Read on and enjoy the keyboard sounds of my friend Mike.

This has been a year of change. Moving studio, closing chapters and building a name as watercolourist. All good changes. But change nevertheless. And change is a journey. In my consulting life I wrote an eBook on how change unfolds in teams*. It is a great resource. As the storm of each new fad rips through the corporate environment it sometimes leaves a windfall for anyone seeking the real value. Change or ‘Transition’ was a nice case study in this. You can download my eBook from my other website if you like. I would like to hear your comments. Packing away the wall of books behind where I sat for the last 20 years turned out to be part of this journey of change for me. Some of these books are held together with duct-tape from over-use as I wrestled out my consulting model.

The joy has been making sense of my somewhat irrational feelings. And my new studio space is filled with light and warmth. It is so nice!

Here are the two diagrams I use to introduce the topic “Change” in my ebook:

In April I submitted three works to the San Diego Watercolour Society 2025 International Exhibition. The rules allowed me to submit three but hang only one work.

The curator chose this one:

I think this watercolour is a good representation of a high-point I reached in my work last year. I am proud of this and the watercolour I completed of Eerste River flowing past Lanzerac Wine Estate, which sold on exhibition in the white wine cellar at Lanzerac Wine Estate early this year. Here are the other two watercolours I submitted to San Diego:

The show opens on 28 September this year. So if you are in San Diego go and see the work. It is not looking likely that I will be able to be there.

This is such a cool milestone for me.
So I wanted to celebrate with you as reader of my newsletter.
Therefore I am selling Limited Edition High Resolution Inkjet Prints of these three watercolours.
You can see this offer on my website by clicking the button below.

Last year a young couple in my church asked me to paint a watercolour of their wedding ceremony, on the day. On a chilly, wet Saturday in July I went up to the church after my watercolour class and did the work. Here is the result:

The church is round, with a high roof-light and walls lined with a latticework of bricks set at different angles to manage echoes. This called for an impressionistic approach.

The project came on the heels of two intense commitments. The day before I led a watercolour workshop for a local charity with some school-children. When I had finished the process with them I packed up my kit and headed across to Somerset College where Jo Swart hosted an annual Wine and Art auction in support of the Night Shelter, a homeless facility here in our town. They asked me to paint a watercolour and meet people as they came up to chat. Here is the watercolour I created:

At the beginning of August I was invited to present my work to a boutique hotel in Mossel Bay, the Diaz Ocean View Hotel. So I loaded up some work and took a drive over there. The work looks good up on the walls there and it was good to spend time in Mossel Bay sketching and taking photos.

I am using the material to contribute to my 2025 portfolio. Here is my watercolour of an outcrop of rock and loose boulders on the calm side of the “Iconic Point” in Mossel Bay.

The other side of the Point is a very high energy coastline, pounded with massive swells that have exposed the folded sedimentary rocks. The waves crash in and the water flows down the channels created by the folds in the rock. This is the topic for the second watercolour above.  I am busy with other watercolours looking down the point.

Watch this space…

I am still working on my waiters project for the Deli at Lanzerac. Here is my latest work:

A while ago a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to join a collective he was considering. This seemed like a good idea so I met with him and a couple of other artists who work in different media towards different aims than the two of us. The four of us had a few meetings to agree a purpose, some key values and the way we would work. Oh yes, we also went round and round and backwards and forwards on a name. And then we agreed it would be a great idea to hold an exhibition of our work as soon as possible. As we considered advertising our exhibition the guys suggested a sign on the main road on which we would hold the exhibition, saying “Free Wine”. We would follow this with another sign saying “Just Kidding” and another sign saying turn in here to see an art exhibition. Then someone said “Hey that would be a cool name! And there it is. Check out our name and logo. Man! It is so good to work with people with real skills in marketing, copywriting and design.

We have planned a joint exhibition for mid-October. Another space I invite you to watch.

And here we are with the adverts for our first exhibition.

Drop me a note and let me know what you think. I will post the final dates on my social media platforms and in my next newsletter. Here are the adverts we are putting out on our WhatsApp statuses.

“Light is Sweet” is the official newsletter for SJQ Watercolour in which I share my work and a story or two. This month you have the bonus of an appalling joke.

It would be such a great help to me if you shared this email with other people who may appreciate this edition.

And if this is the first time you read this note AND you would like to stay in touch please click on the link below to sign up for “Light is Sweet”.

Up to the end of July I did not complete any large scale work. I started some watercolours for class demonstrations. Now I have a stack of 15 half-finished works. I started painting up a storm at the beginning of August and have a plan to complete these watercolours – forthwith!

Oh yes
And let’s not forget – it is that time of year again.

I have begun to compile the watercolour calendar for next year. This year it will be a combination of ocean, rocks aaaand… apple harvest
How about that?

As usual I will print a limited number for distribution in The Basin. But it is also an opportunity for you to give your clients something really special at the end of the year. Remember, the whisky/ey you give your clients – or that bottle of wine is gone within a couple of months. But with a calendar each month, for a whole year, your client turns a page and there, next to a beautiful watercolour is your logo. Now come on. Who would not want an association like that?

Watercolour classes continue. I will hold a one-day watercolour basics workshop on 20 September. This session is a great step up into learning the medium. If you complete this session you may wish to join the regular class as we step through a curriculum of skills to make our watercolours better. Here are some of the exercises we have done recently, including my demo in our class out in the field.

And here are some photos of the class at work, including a class at the river in Radloff Park:

I have been sharing stories from my journey in life to create connections with people on Social Media. My online source tells me about how we can create connections by telling interesting stories from our past as well as sharing our purpose for creating art and talking about our values as an artist.

Here is a short story that seemed to be well received:

A Blowout in Transkei

Here is an adventure from before watercolour. Early 80s. BC times (Before Colour). As an artist my purpose is to work with watercolour in small adventures. Sitting in front of a page with brush and palette is always an adventure. But this was out there. Riding around Southern Africa on a BMW R60.

We left Coffee Bay early one Saturday morning. As we loaded I noticed a blister in the wall my rear tyre. There was nothing we could do about it so I decided to head for East London.

We cruised to the comforting rumble of the 600cc opposed twin. But as we passed Butterworth (now Gcuwa), I felt the bike snaking and realised the tyre had sighed-out. Putting my legs out I slowed to a halt. I lifted the bike onto the stand and we stood looking at each other. Now what?

This was not a good time or place. We could not leave the bike, I could not leave my friend. If she got a lift to East London it could be days before she could return. There were no mobile phones back then. The whole situation was fraught.

As we talked a small car towing a bike trailer passed us and pulled over. Hope soared. I walked up and explained our predicament. He said he was on his way to East London. But he said “I will never get through the Kei-Cuttings with two bikes, you guys and your gear in this little car”. Oogh! – My heart sank. Again!

“But,“ he said “my brother-in-law is on his way behind me. He could not find his keys this morning so he is in my father’s Ranchero”. Just then a Ranchero pulled up. We switched the trailer, loaded the bike and stowed our kit and headed for East London where we offloaded in a campsite. It was too late to get to a bike shop.

But that was not the end of the miracle

As a student I had blown my travel budget on a misdiagnosis on the way up to Johannesburg from Cape Town. A story with a different moral, for another time. We had just enough to make it to Cape Town.

But then, in the camp site I met two good friends who were able to lend me cash for a new tyre.

Here is my comment

Call this coincidence. Good Luck maybe. But when I look back I see the kind and loving hand of God. A miracle.

Not the last! A big, scarier one was soon to follow. And I still want to tell this story. And at the risk of repeating the phrase… This could be another space to watch don’t you think.

Perhaps it may be appropriate to end this edition with a seriously corny story about a space to watch. There is this hole found in Salisbury Plain. Apparently police are looking into it. How is that?

Till next time – hopefully a little sooner than five months.