Light is Sweet – November 2022

Welcome to this November 2022 edition of Light is Sweet.

“Light is Sweet and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun”.  Ecclesiastes 11:6

OK this is where I throw in the towel in the race against the months.  I published August in September.  And I don’t think I am going to get a September and an October publication out on the interwebs.  Therefore this is “November”- And that is that.

The paintings have been completed.  The Calendars have been designed (and redesigned).  The first draft have been printed and are selling fast.

The calendar just looks so good.  I am very proud of this work.  And so – to the newsletter – “Light is Sweet” – November 2022.

But first

Why don’t you pause
Stop what you are doing.
Step awaaaay from the grindstone.

This edition is short read.
and there is some great news – in fact this is really a News-letter.
It is after all mostly pictures.
A small chunk out of your month.

So

As usual,
Sit back.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep, breath.

Now

Open the mail.
Download the pictures
enjoy the read

The music is composed and played by my friend Mike

The 2023 Lourens River calendar

The calendar is complete.

It is finished!

Kla!

I finished a final watercolour for November and a watercolour for the cover.  And here they are.  The October watercolour looks over the upper reaches of the Estuary at the mouth of the river – across on of the greens on the golf course.  And there in the Hottentots Holland is the ravine in which the Lourens River seeps out to fill pools and trickle down through the broken rocks.  Oh yes and there is our pretty little peak on the left.  The Helderberg – what would that be?  “Bright Mountain” maybe.  Those evenings and mornings when the mountain shines out over our town.

And here is the watercolour I created for the front cover of the calendar:

If you read the last newsletter you may recall the image of the river rocks under watercolour construction.

How are you enjoying “Light is Sweet”?  Please drop me a comment on my blog posting to give some feedback.

And if you want to order a calendar

Click on the image below to go the page where you can order a calendar.

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Pick up your calendar

If you have been blessed to live in the Helderberg Basin you can also pick up your copy of the calendar at one of the following outlets.  Be sure to make time to stop over for a great coffee as well.

Anton, at Sage & Thyme, has kindly agreed to put the calendar out for sale in his restaurant in The Circle Centre in Somerset West again.

And Austin and Nicky have it on display at Pro-vide coffee shop at the circle in Strand.

AND – you can still brand a calendar for your organisation.

Thank you to the organisations who have branded the calendar for client gifts.  There is still time for one or two more brandings.

And finally – sign up for this newsletter.  What do they say?  To avoid disappointment in the future…  If you have enjoyed this note and are not yet subscribed, please hit this link to my website to subscribe to stay in “light” touch with this slice of the world of watercolour.

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A trip to the interior

In the midst of the work to complete the calendar I went up to Maseru to facilitate a planning session for a client.  These sessions are almost all-consuming.  But I managed to slip out early one morning to walk up the hill behind Botleng Guest House.  I sat under a rock overhang and painted the view across the valley to Thaba Bosiu – the place where the Basotho nation began.  Then the rain came down and almost washed the watercolour off the sheet.

After the session I left early in the morning and stopped off at my termite mound to paint the view.  As I was working a bakkie stopped.  It was the farmer who owns the land I was painting.  He told me the story of the farm and suggested I have a look down the valley from in the farm.

I finished my watercolour and drove into the farm to see.
It is a very very beautiful place.  I took some photos and intend to paint some watercolours.  First to finalise this calendar project.

Here are the two latest versions of my favourite view.  The farmer called it “Platberg Punt” I think.  But the conversation was full and, as usual, having lots of time turned into a rather hurried drive to Bloemfontein to catch my flight.

Version 1:

And here is the second version:

So there it is

Another milestone in the world of SJQ Watercolour.

Stephen J. Quirke