We saw a lot of buck just before we reached the Skukuza Camp, where we were going to stay the night.
Contradictory terrain!
Just something of interest: If you look back on previous Kruger Park blogs, from the photos I took, to the scenes I had painted, you would have noticed there’s a variety of a different type of scenes.
Maybe it’s because spring hadn’t yet come properly into its own. Some areas displayed dry golden tufts of thatch grass and burnt out areas. And then some trees had their first shoots of green leaves. And you will see in the coming blogs really lush green scenes!
Anyway, back to our trip through the park:
Next, we came across two Nyala Buck.
They were loosely wondering within a very dry area on the left-hand side of the road.
Then suddenly we came across a clearing between some trees, on the left side of the road.
Here is an oil painting I painted of that scene:
You see the sand in the middle of the scene? It looks dry. Just tufts of grass here and there. But some of the grass looks green. So I presume there must be underground water somewhere there to feed the grass. Perhaps once a little stream ran down through there in the wet season?
How I painted that oil painting:
(Previously I had prepared several new canvases with a light wash of raw sienna and turps.)
- Now that my canvases undercoats were dry, I could select one and fill in the basic formation of the composition.
- First a light wash of colour, I drew in the basic outlines of the composition. Using a small brush, just of few loose strokes here and there (no detail) to place the main objects in the scene.
- Outlining the flow of the background trees. Perhaps a clump of grass here and there in the foreground. And also those that ran back perspectively into the scene.
- Then I blocked in the basic colours of those shapes and filled in the areas in between. Nothing fancy, tidy or detailed! I just `splashed’ on colour to get the basics of the painting approximately placed. Later you can adjust their position, forms or borders if you so wish.
- When that’s dry, you can start to fill in the details as you work up the painting, stage by stage.
- I like to into-play and into-lace my colours and tones as a work, to create atmospheric depth and emotional impact.
- When the composition is dry I come back another day and fill in the highlights. You see, when the painting is dry it tends to look somewhat dullish. That’s when you can see for sure where you need to freshen up the painting and add sparkling highlights!
Sorry about the trees in the background looking do blue. I tried to reduce the blue with my photo app, but they stayed so blue! In the original the trees look leafier with different shades of colours! But the blue does contrast nicely with the golden colour of the grass, anyway!
Then more Nyala & an Impala buck:
These buck were right next to the road, with a narrow gully between them and our car. Even though we were so close, they weren’t concerned about us. So it was fascinating to watch them grazing and messing around `doing their thing’ like we weren’t even there!
Don’t you think buck are majestic creatures?!
And we saw this last troop of buck just before entering the Skukuza camp, where we booked in and spent the rest of the afternoon checking out our lodgings, the campsite and its beautiful surroundings.
Next week’s Kruger travel blog:
I show an oil painting of the Sabie River with its green reeds, trees, etc. So green and lush after all that dry grass you’ve seen in today’s blog oil painting!
What a wonderful animals
But what did you like most about the animals?
Nice trip..I am fascinated by your techniques of painter ... Really an original artist.
I don't know why some artists are scared of people copying and stealing their Technics. Because the way you apply your hand, how you see things and how you use your imagination, is so different from person to person. Your personal expression is like a fingerprint on your paintings!
Nice words @artguru
yeah, the weather is still changing and that's the only reason you got different effects in your photos. with this much buck i can easily say this trip as buck trip :P nice photos.
The next few blogs cover areas where there are rivers. And I love painting river scenes, so It has been hard to choose which scenes I should paint. So there maybe quite a lot of paintings in the next few blogs!
The basic colors and shape of the painting is awesom. Great post that touches heart
Adding atmospheric conditions and contrasts of warm and cool colours helps to create that emotional impact.
WOW! The original dried grass scene and your oil painting of that area is quiet similar. Applause!!
I never see bucks in real but you did explore a bit. Great
The season conditions may change, but what looks familiar perhaps is the style in which I paint!
I hope someday you will be able to see live buck in their natural habitat. And when you do, watch the graceful way they stand and agile way they move.
It always good to watch buck in this much quantity, They look different, they look perfect, thanks for sharing this beautiful blog with us mam.
It's fascinating hey, to watch a group of impala buck. They are always alert for trouble. Their bodies quiver, and their ears and little short tails twitch in nerves anticipation. And at the slightest sound or movement in the bush, they are off, skipping and springing out of trouble.
I love art any type of art .... especially your doing excellent..
It's nice to observe and take note of the different ways people paint. There is always something new to learn from others.
Waiting for Next week’s Kruger travel blog.
Are you enjoying each Kruger park travel blog as they appear? What do you like best about the way they are written. Just so I have some idea where and what I'm doing right. Looking forward to your reply to this.
Nice oil painting and animal photography.
Thank you for your kind words.
Winter is coming.Weather is totally changed.Some peoples like winter or some not.You are so enjoying your travel.Wao thats so great you see many buck.And other side you also see two Nyala Buck.Nyala buck looks so beautiful.Weather looks so cool.And your oil painting is really impressive and heart touching.Really very good efford.Sky and tress looks so beautiful in the painting.I m so enjoying your trip.Thanks for sharing.@artguru.
Winter was finished and spring had started when we entered Kruger Park. But because the rains here in South Africa, don't really start until the last week in October, the first shoots of green leaves and grass hadn't really bloomed during our trip.
Sometimes it only starts to rain into November before we get any decent rains. One year we only got a little rain in February the following year! We all had to watch how much water we used! The last few years Cape Town area had seriously empty dams and they struggled to wash clothes, etc. Luckily, lately they've had a little rain and dam levels have improved.
You have painted well in this painting. You are such a nice painter.
Thank you. Your complements are encouraging.
very nice place and Beautiful painting <3
Kruger Park is very nice place
great post @artguru
Thank you. But what impressed you the most?
Drawing And writing because I love hobbyists, especially drawing or inventions
I think ,, traveling is always enjoyable and pleasure..It also refresh our mind..
So,,lot of thanks for sharing your travel experience..
We were very grateful for our daughter, taking us on that very special holiday through the Kruger National Park.
Graceful and attractive oil painting it is which can catch a heart very easily. And your blogs are getting more appealing with these types of paintings.
And @artguru you know what I follow you in my writing and try to describe things like you do, I hope I will be better with time.
Lovely post!
Because you are getting something out of what I write and paint, it makes everything I do so worthwhile. Thank you. And I hope everything you do too, will be more exciting to do.
Thank you for all the complements that I'm able to understand your work! And I will try my best to make good of what I learn from your work.
Really,,This is the lot of beautiful place for travel..All the animal look so beautiful..
👍👍👍
I think it was overwhelming to see so many animals, and close up too at times.
Really some place just very astonishing and I appreciate your post dear friend @artguru..
Thanks for sharing your post..
Because of the difference of what we were seeing, it was indeed an astonishing experience.
This park is the best one than other park and travelling is my passion so thanks for sharing this details @artguru
I love going to new places. It means I can take my camera with me and the possibility of getting some beautiful scenes to paint.
Thanks a lot for sharing your valuable post actually I follow your every post and I appreciate your every ..
Keep vit up dear..
I will support your every post..
It's great to have you checking out and following whats happening here.
So very adventure to enjoy from this park and actually this is your post very informative and this post animal so very beautiful..
It certainly was an adventure, because you never knew what you would see around each corner in the road.
Travelling to be good when place is very beautiful so this place is very fine and I like it.
Thanks for sharing this place..
So much to see yet. So I hope you enjoy the rest of the trip too through the park.
So very much beautiful your activities and I appreciate your blog dear artguru..
Thanks for sharing your informative post..
There was so much to see each day in your trip through the park, that I can only show you one or three things at a time! Especially if I add paintings to it too.
Your painting post very beautiful just will be Carry one I think that you can succeed..
It gives me so much pleasure preparing and sharing these travel blogs through the park, because it brings back many lovely memories.
Beautiful painting so very good post to provide in this platform just very in informative thanks for sharing dear friend..
Keep it up and carry on activities..
Glad you enjoyed it and I will try to keep it up. Steemit really is a wonderful place for artists to show their work. And even nicer to be able to attach stories to those paintings.
So mind blowing painting post and travelling just amazing to do enjoy and this place so very good one ..
So to do enjoy this place..
Travelling is amazing when you open up your mind to what you see and make up your mind to enjoy every minute of it.
Yes, your painted well. You are such a nice painter. Thank you ('How I painted that oil painting') for this concept. You really good painter @artguru.
Do you like it when I describe how I paint pictures? Do you think it adds more value to a blog? Or would you prefer to just have the story with photos?
This is cool post and this place looks very incredible and so very amazing and I like your all post cause your all post is my favourite.
I'm so pleased you like what I post. It makes all the time and effort I put into painting and blogging so worthwhile.
Just a great post one I appreciate your post my dear friend so I am proud you cause your every content just good and helpful for us ..so carry on your activities..so this your contribution just marvelous I think that your post very informative
It is great hey, when we add little interesting facts to what would normally be just pictures.
Very nice post i
Like The method of writing
And photography and i like the nature draw
Glad you enjoyed. I think the way we set-out the format design of our blogs is important too. Thinking of ways to make it easy to read also counts, besides providing passable content.
Thanks a lot for sharing your valuable post my dear friend @artguru actually this park very nice to say all user and I will visit this park one day..
Always a pleasure to share with you and having you here.
I hope too, that one day you can go through Kruger National Park as well.
Travelling through the Kruger National Park was more than enjoyable. It was what we needed so much at the time.