One of my favourite galleries is when Pietermaritzburg organises "Art in the Park" and I certainly wasn't disappointed this year.
This year the day was divine a slight crisp morning gave way to brilliant blue skies and bright warm sunshine. The paintings were arranged under the trees beside the river and as I walked in some school children struck up on their steel drums to entertain us with their foot tapping music, lending a very festive air to the whole proceedings. It was a perfect day to see a a fabulous display of paintings from fifty-five artists from around South Africa.
The first paintings to catch my eye were the ladies painted by Ronnie Biccard, each one expressing sensitive subtleties of mood, colour and emotion in big dollops. Isaac Sitole had some striking wood-carving prints and seems to have caught the eye of international audiences which is brill.
My friend Marion was busy networking or selling something when I passed by her beautiful watercolours but she still had a moment to stop for a smiley photo. Coral Spencer Domijan a fellow Durbanite was painting away in the sunshine, a huge beachscape but she had a suitcase exploding with smaller paintings mainly of people who could tell a whole story with their body language. I dropped in on my mate Nicky Chovuchovu for a chat and landed up buying another of his paintings for my collection - it sits on my mantelpiece at the moment, so I can enjoy it all the time till I find a good home for it.
As I rounded one corner I came across something beautifully different and eye-catching collaborative effort of a young couple called Mpenja or Everett Duarte a South African and German artist Frances Schandera.
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