Seven years
ago, a plum orchard in blossom was the image that nudged me into action. That
action was to get a blog out of my head and onto paper. Where the first blog
post was inspired by the promise of spring in late August, this year was a
reminder that late August often is, and this year quite unmistakably so, winter
in the Western Cape.
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| Towerwater still life with oranges after Conrad Theys (see below) |
We marveled
at the overnight snowfall on all the mountains around us as we travelled to
Towerwater from Cape Town. It is years since we have seen such extensive snowfall
in the Western Cape Winelands.
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| Snow capped Du Toitskloof mountains |
The last
thing on our minds was the prospect of blossoms on the roadsides between
Robertson and Bonnievale. Instead, we marveled at the full Breede River and the
lushness of the veld around us.
Towerwater
welcomed us with warm tints of orange from a very cold garden. From hints of
orange in the fiddlewood leaves, to the warm oranges of the nasturtium patchwork
under the grapevines and orchard trees. In the herbaceous border, the clivias foretold
of a show of orange blooms soon to follow while Seville and Valencia oranges shone
bright in their orange abundance.
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| Seville oranges |
Visual
warmth emanates from the cold garden while bowls of bright orange kumquats brighten
the kitchen yellowwood table.
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| Valencia Oranges |
A still
life with oranges, painted by Conrad Theys in 2003, inspired me to recreate the
image on a table in the voorkamer. Contemplating the still life with oranges, led
my thoughts to all the many artists that have been inspired to paint such a
theme. Was it the bright colour of the oranges on a cold day that inspired?
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| Still life with oranges - Conrad Theys, 2003 |
Even an
artist like Piet Mondriaan, known for his abstract work, once was seduced into
painting a still life with oranges. While Paul Gaugin, better known for the
Synthetist style, could not resist painting a still life with oranges.
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| Detail of Still life with oranges - Piet Mondriaan, 1899 |
Henri
Matisse painted his orange basket in 1912. As a starving artist in Paris, Matisse
splashed out on expensive fruits and flowers, not to eat, but to paint. Several
times he bankrupted himself to "paint summer in a freezing Paris
winter" as Hilary Spurling puts it. That’s how I like to think of the
colour of citrus fruit in the garden, summer in winter.
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| Still life with oranges - Paul Gaugin, 1881 |
Even
Picasso must have loved the colours in Matisse’s painting because he bought the
painting, ‘Basket with oranges’ in 1945. I am sure Matisse must have seen the
gesture as a compliment from his friend and rival.
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| Detail of Basket with oranges - Henri Matisse, 1912 |
So many
things inspire creativity. The need to capture beauty, record traditions, share
an experience or keep a journal. All of which inspire this blog. On this
occasion, I celebrate seven years of recording life on a historic homestead on
the edge of the Klein Karoo and the people who read, enjoy and perhaps even, learn
from these musings.
Thank you
for the more than 137 000 pageviews. With 505 blog posts to date, it seems,
in truth, that there is always something new to write about.
Happy 7th birthday, Blog!Previous birthday posts
The blues and orange colours together play so effectively off each other. Need to wear these colours together more often!
ReplyDeleteCheryl, I can picture you in those colours. I think they will suit you.
DeleteAnother interesting and informative post Thys. Your blog is a source of inspiration. I look forward to reading more of your posts. Cheryl, thanks for drawing my attention to the colour combination.
ReplyDelete