Splash Gold

The magnificent gelding from Dean Kannemeyer’s stable with Jockey Karl Neisius scores his fifth win in the PSL Soccer 4 Handicap at Durbanville on Saturday 5 March.



Pastel on Royal Sovereign Pastel Board

Original Size: 50 x 65 cm

Framed: 86 x 100 cm (approximate)

Splash Gold is my first foray into the world of Equestrian Fine Art, but the painting has been so well received that I’m setting my sights on the Sport of Kings - Polo.

So much so that at 6am this morning, I was out scouring the beach below Brekvis Bay for feathers...... I’ve got exactly 1 week to create a ‘fascinator’.  Forget the wide-brimmed straw hats of the Met, this is an altogether more elegant affair.... a single Sacred Ibis plume tucked into a tailored black silk number, pinned to a perfectly coiffed chignon.  Your otherwise bundu-bashing barefoot artist ’en grande tenue’.

A week today, Saturday April 17^th, Cape Town’s celebrities and  fashionistas converge at Val de Vie Wine Estate near Paarl for the international Polo Masters.  And ‘moi’ won’t be rubbing shoulders with Ryk Neethling on the Petanque court or leisurely quaffing champagne on the pavilion (although I won’t say no to a taste of Raats’s Rhone-inspired Mouvedre!). No. You’ll find me on the playing fields, furiously sketching horses... watching carefully as players wield their mallets to score a goal.  I’m learning from the master – Degas - and getting inspired..... watch this space.

Dyer Island Visit

I’ve dreamed of visiting Dyer Island for almost 20 years, since returning to Hermanus back in 1994.  Even so, nothing could have prepared me for my experience on Thursday 22 July.  It surpassed all expectations and is certainly one of the highlights of my life.

The moment I arrived in Kleinbaai, I was welcomed by the crew at Dyer Island Cruises.  After a brief introduction and signing in, I was clad in orange life jacket and oil skin and ushered down to the harbour and on board.  Albert was our captain and Michele the marine biologist monitoring whales.  Both proved to be gold mines of information.

 

 

Albert had barely nosed the bow of the boat out of the harbour when the sea came alive with Southern Right blows. Everywhere! “Blow! Blow! 11 o’clock... another at 9 o’clock....” .  A beautiful big seabird hovered overhead, his white underwings luminous - a Subantartic Skua.  Suddenly the VHF radio crackled to life: a school of dolphins had been spotted moving fast beyond Dyer Island.  The crew scrambled to batten down the hatches.  We would have to go full throttle.  The mirror surface of the harbour sea was quickly replaced by a tricky wind chop and a bit of swell, which Albert easily navigated - all the while elaborating on the acrobatic aerial displays of swift terns (sadly, the terns weren’t performing in the wind), identifying a Whitechinned Petrel and spotting my first Albatross!  With its majestic 2-and-a-half-meter wingspan, the Shy Albatross glided effortlessly over the waves.  Breathtaking.  On the horizon, the sea churned with spouts and splashes.  Albert accelerated and we rollercoasted through the waves..... suddenly we were in the epicentre of what appeared to be over a thousand dolphins, as far as the eye could see.  What a privilege!  Dorsal fins, flanks and flukes glittered in the sun as the dolphins sped alongside the boat.  The characteristic ochre and grey belly and distinct dark eye stripe indicated Delphinus delphis the Common Dolphin (which has been celebrated in art since ancient times and is still inspiring artists...... certainly me!).  We would never have been able to tear ourselves away from this spectacle were it not for the Call of the Humpback....not 100 meters from our boat, thirty-odd tonnes of whale arced into the sky as the Humpback breached.  By the time i’d clicked my camera shutter, all that remained visible was the underside of its fluke.  Although disappointed, this is a valuable ‘fingerprint’ helping marine biologists identify individuals.  Another pair of Humpbacks blew in unison and an African Penguin emerged from the oceans depths with a beakful of anchovies.  Albert turned the boat back towards the Island.  We passed the shark boat, witnessing a four-and-half-meter Great White from our safe bird’s-eye-view!  And then it was through the famous ‘Shark Alley’, Cape Fur seals frolicking in the shallows, clapping their flippers like an appreciative audience.

You could have left me stranded there forever.  Bliss! 3 hours never flew by so fast.  After a bit of homework, discovered that our Shy Albatross, also known as the Bloubekmalmok by locals, breeds on islands around Tasmania and New Zealand and visits our shores in winter.

It’s opened up a whole new world for me to explore.... an albatross on the wing, a shark hunting, penguins ‘porpoising’ on the crest of a wave and dolphins surfing through turquoise seas.  Our marine environment is so magnificent, and so few people are privileged to experience it. Paintings might just broaden the net, helping to raise awareness and make people more determined to protect this precious resource.

Endangered African Penguin Faces Extinction

African Penguins have been sliding towards extinction since industrial fishing started around the Cape. In the past 30 years, the population has crashed by more than 50%. The IUCNs Red List of threatened species was revised on 26 May 2010 and the status of the African Penguin was changed from Vulnerable to Endangered. In 1956 the first full census of the species was conducted. 150,000 pairs were counted mostly on islands off the South African and Namibian coasts. These birds had survived a century of persecution. Guano was the new-found gold, and prospectors plundered the colonies, destroying nests and eggs. In 2009 there were only 26,000 pairs. That is a decline of over 80% in just 50 years.

Dr Ross Wanless, Seabird Division Manager for BirdLife South Africa, warns that these shrinking populations make colonies particularly vulnerable. Bad weather, seal predation and even seagulls taking eggs, are potentially disastrous. “In large, healthy populations, these events were trivial. Now a fierce gale can have serious consequences. We’re almost at the point of managing individual birds.”

Dr Rob Crawford, chief scientist for Marine and Coastal Management, said while it’s difficult to pinpoint one cause, “all the indications are that the penguins are struggling to find enough sardines and anchovies”. Dr Lorien Pichegru from the Percy FitzPatrick Institute at UCT, has been studying the impact of closing fishing areas around key penguin breeding islands. Preliminary results suggest that this might well benefit the birds. Marine and Coastal Management has commissioned a team to consider how best to implement restrictions while minimising the impacts on the fishing industry. But competing with commercial fisheries is just one hurdle penguins face. The effects of climate change on sea temperatures, oil pollution and new constructions, like the proposed PetroSA refinery at Algoa Bay could have a devastating impact on the breeding colonies at Bird Island and St Croix, home to the largest number of African Penguins globally.

BirdLife, in partnership with SANCCOB, the Dyer Island Trust other dedicated organisations, is continuously monitoring African Penguins to determine what action needs to be taken to ensure the survival of the African Penguin.