Mondrian, the Verticals and the Horizontals

A note by Mondrian: If the masculine is the vertical line, then a man will recognize this element in the rising line of a forest; in the horizontal lines of the sea he will see his complement. Woman, with the horizontal line as element, sees herself in the recumbent lines of the sea, and her complement in the vertical lines of the forest. (his remark on his two paintings ‘Sea’ and ‘Trees’, both made in 1912.

* source, famous Dutch people life quotes: note in his sketchbook; as quoted in “Mondrian, -The Art of Destruction”, Carel Blotkamp, Reaktion Books LTD. London 2001, p. 70.

I decided to use these thoughts of Mondrian as the base for my abstract tree paintings. As I slash and slash my canvas to get those sharp sword-like (masculine) lines, I like to think about the images of war. Soon, a little war of words (with lots of laughing) started at home. My beautiful very feminine daughter and two grand-daughters would have loved to be Joan of Arc. They believe they stand upright in life...forget about the docile, reclining, beach or forest floor feminine image......Oh, dear, am I rambling here and forgetting about the paintings?

In these paintings I kept both Mondrian's lines and Kandinsky's colour theories in mind. Here we have the advancing yellows and the receding blues to animate the picture surface. Though abstract, nothing appears to be only on one level. As I mentioned in the previous post, I always abstract from something, in this instance nature, so that my paintings will recall reality.

Tall Trees I

by South African Abstract Impressionistic Landscape Artist Marie Theron
12.5 x 17.5cm (5 x 7 inches)
Acrylic and recycled acrylic skins on canvas
US$85

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Tall Trees II

by South African Abstract Impressionistic Landscape Artist Marie Theron

12.5 x 17.5cm (5 x 7 inches)

Acrylic on canvas

US$85

View or Buy

Tall Trees III

by South African Abstract Impressionistic Landscape Artist Marie Theron

12.5 x 17.5cm (5 x 7 inches)

Acrylic on canvas

US$85

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Sugar and Spice, (little girls) painted by South African Impressionist Artist Marie Theron

I had fun doing eight little child paintings, where I tried to capture them in some gentle activity. Of, course, I have stored images over the years, and these darlings are based on photos of my grandchildren when they were young and sometimes the child of a friend. My subjects never pose for my and I like to capture them when they are unaware.

I first painted the canvasses bright blue. This blue colour had an influence on all the colours I used, softening the colours and contributing to the delicate nature of my subject. Due to a much smaller gallery space, I paint in acrylics, which I love. I will show more of my kids next time.

'Every Drop Helps"
100mm x 100mm
6' x 6'
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'Girl with a Cat" 2
100mm x 100mm
6' x 6'
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"Dreaming by the Stream"
100mm x 100mm
6' x 6'
SOLD

Paintings for Summer by South African Impressionist Marie Theron

Tea on the Terrace
150mm x 210mm
6" x 8" 
Acrylic on Canvas
ZAR 1333
US$ 131

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A Long Cool Drink

150mm x 210mm

6" x 8" 

Acrylic on Canvas

ZAR 1333

US$ 131
SOLD

Low Tide in Zanzibar

"Kelp Gathering" by Artists of Africa Artist Marie Theron
508mm x 508mm oil on cotton wrapped canvas
$US 489

Continuing my African paintings: Do you know the West Coast where I stay? Low tide, even while being called "low" is still a dangerous phenomenon and the water will throw you onto the rocks, should you dare to enter the sea. I love my noisy home, where nights are never quiet and the large waves can be heard day and night. Of course, travelling can be so refreshing, and we were thrilled with the low, low tide at Zanzibar. You can wade in for miles to sit in the water, find a dhow, chat to locals and scrunch up your eyes because the light is so blindingly bright.

Here we observed the activity of seaweed harvesting by the Masaai women. By driving sticks into the low areas of the sea, traps are formed where the seaweed can easily be collected. Bucketfuls of the green stuff are then taken to the beach to be hung out to dry. Dry seaweed is exported to China where it is boiled into soap and shampoo.

In my painting "Kelp Harvesting", I have tried to show the endless stretch of low tide, and the blinding light that etches out the figures of workers. I did not take enough photos while I was there, but I treasure these few photos and hope you like them too. They really portray the exact mood on that tranquil island.

To view the buying guide to this painting, click HERE

Diamonds on the West Coast

Diamonds, like all other products, have been given to man to utilize and create jobs. If you are not into the romantic side of these blingy bits, consider that they are also very useful in industry because of their hardness and strength.

I found these lovely colourful diamond trawlers at Lambert's Bay, the best area for maritime diamond mining. This industry has only been commercially viable since the 1990's. Seabed crawlers can be remote controlled but mostly divers are needed. These divers, who can only work about six days per month because of our famous stormy waters, have to work in the cold of the Atlantic Ocean for up to 8 hours. When they spot diamond-bearing gravel on the seabed they direct the suction hoses towards it.

The gravel is then pumped onto sorting tables. When the boats return, the diamonds are taken ashore. What I loved about this scene was the hollow hoses floating on top of the water, providing seating for hundreds of Cape Cormorants.

Folks and Fish # 2

From my studio I can see Kabeljoubank where the snoek hang out to dry with Table Mountain in the distance. If the motorists racing past on the R27 will only spend 15 minutes to drive to this rocky outpost, they can observe a centuries old West Coast custom of drying salted fish in the open air and seabreeze.

My models are not the owners of the fish, but are helping to turn and guard them for a small daily fee. On my first visit two years ago they were timid in front of the camera and extremely shy of the easel and paints set-up. Now, for a small modelling fee, they hold out the snoek so I can observe the lovely pinks of the wet fish and the blue and turquoise colours when the sun reflects the oil in the fish. They remember me from before and even tell my what I forgot to take note of the previous visit.

The painting, I think, is my least favourite of the "Folks and Fish"set of four because of the bright sunlight and deep shadows. I much prefer the cloudy moods of the West Coast for my paintings. Readers can find more about snoek in two of my older posts: Snoek drying on the fence, and Smoorsnoek prepared in a country kitchen.

Taking the Pass to the top of the Mountain

We drive right through pretty Piketberg to the Northern side where the 3-looped pass begins. One is almost immediately met by an amazing sight of hang-gliders making their slow and very colourful descent from the mountain, landing noiselessly on a soft green grassland.

For weeks over the holidays I have tried to visualise what it would be like up there on the heights of the Piketberg. It is VAST! There are so many farms up there. Some have mansions and formal gardens. Others have small cottages peeking through the vegetation. I saw former homes in ruins left to crumble away. There are protea farms and citrus farms and some tiny lavender groves and neat vineyards! The natural vegetation consists of fynbos and various protea species. On these bushy uneven lands the San reigned long ago. They were quite agile and it was difficult to find stolen cattle back once they were in their hands....thus the cannon had to sound a warning in time when they were spotted about to attack the farms in the valley.

My painting shows the view towards the town from the top where there is a place to stop and gaze back. I painted those dams and farms, (the greenest patches are vineyards), then decided to place a mistyness over all the careful detail in the distance! By now I have often painted thinned white acrylics over my work, then rubbed it off fast, so I had no fear in doing that!

I include a photo of one of the many small citrus farms on top of the Piketberg (Mountain). How absolutely wonderful it must be to live and work far above the crowds! And now on towards the tea garden half an hour's drive into the mountain!

Alone with the Mountain

I was so pleased that everyone loved Aurora! Many people fell in love with the town through my blog! It is romantic in a special way as each house has a solitary aura about it. Look at this cheeky cottage with the turquoise veranda: It looks as if it stands there alone with the mountain behind it, although it is on a street in town! There is a West Coast chimney on the outside which means there will be a cosy inglenook for cooking inside the kitchen!

Here is tiny Aurora's role in history: In 1751 the Abby de la Caille arrived from France to measure the earth's meridian. He did his triangular measurement from a barn near Aurora using Strand Street in Cape Town and the mountains of Riebeek West as his other points of reference. Ooopsy, despite his accuracy the earth was found to be mmm....slightly oval! Two centuries later it was found that the mistake could be blamed on the magnetic pull of the the nearby mountains.

Now I can also feel that magnetic pull! For the next painting you will find me taking the 3 -looped pass to visit the top of Piketberg Mountain!