2018 HAD A BIT OF AN UNEXPECTED AND BUMPY START …

We had an amazing break after Christmas at one of our favourite places, Semonkong, Lesotho. This area is deep in the heart of the high mountains. The Lesotho people are friendly and hard working and the countryside rural, with mostly subsistence farming, maize, vegetables, Angora goats, sheep and cattle. I love the sound of cow bells in the distance, the whinnying of horses and the snort of the donkeys. Lesotho has also suffered the drought which claimed most of southern Africa, and there one really sees how people with very little are affected by such hardship.

But – it is also one of the most fantastic places to explore on a mountain bike. We followed animal tracks and jeep roads over and around hills and through villages, we climbed mountain passes and had the most amazing panoramic views – on top of the world!

This place has been an inspiration in much of my work, and in the past I have done many small paintings and drawings while there. This year I spent more time outside in the hills. Unfortunately I had a fall 2 days before we were supposed to return home… What we thought was just a dislocated shoulder was in fact a dislocation and a fracture of the (glenoid?) socket part of my scapula. One surgery and almost six weeks later, I am at last going to start physio and get the arm back into use. Not much has happened in the studio, but I have had time to read, listen and learn more about managing and marketing my art career.

I have shifted the start of my year to 1 March – which is now my new 1 January 2018!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!