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Monday, April 7, 2008

Common Sea Gull


I guess its been a while since my last post. An unfortunate accident about 10 days ago put me out of action for a while.

I decided to wash the windows in my apartment and to reach the top of the windows I stood on my sofa to do the Job.

I had just finished the last window and stepped off the sofa on to the tiled floor on which I had spilt a little water. My feet slipped out from under me and I cracked my head on the tiled step which caused a 2 inch laceration on the back of my head.

I had never seen so much blood in my life and thought I was about to kiss this world good bye. After xrays, six stitches and a bald patch on the back of my head I figured it was not my turn yet.

The stitches are out and my hair has grown over the bald spot but the headaches persist and I have this constant buzzing in my one ear. The Dr. says its Tinnitus and will go away on its own.

Concentration has not been my strong suite since then, so I chose an easy subject to paint. While I was painting this gull, I realised that even though I live right by the beach I seldom see any gulls around. Though Durban is a fair sized city with miles of beautiful beaches recent tests on the water have shown that it is not safe to swim in because of the pollution levels.

I imagine the gulls realised long before we humans that the water was not safe and moved on to cleaner water. I could write a chapter on whats happening to our beautiful city, with a local government who does not seem to give a damn about our natural resources and the tourists they are chasing away, but I won't turn this into a political tirade. Instead I want to dedicate this water colour painting to the common gulls who no longer grace our beautiful coastline.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a shame that nothing is being done for your local environment.

But it's also a shame that you had this accident. Glad to hear you've recovered to some extent, and I hope you are soon fully fit.

Anonymous said...

The gull is lovely, but I'm glad to hear you're okay! I hope the headaches and buzzing go away soon. It sounds a lot like something I'd do -- and I would have been scared as well.

Anonymous said...

Ouch, I hope you heal quickly! I love the seagulls. I live by the shore and I know what you are talking about with regards to the bird population.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry to hear about your accident. I'm hope you a very speedy recovery.

I always look forward to seeing what you paint next.

durano lawayan a.k.a. brad spit said...

Hi,

I've dropped by a number of times on a click and run basis due to the entrecard frenzy, but now I'm stopping to really take a look.

You use strong color patterns on your paintings that give these an imposing appearance. The birds are well detailed too. I'm not an artist but I know that water color is a very difficult material to handle.

Sorry about the accident. Normally, unless a blunt item pierces you in the head, it isn't such a serious thing. Some really strong falls can crack skulls though if it is high and the landing area is solid. Of course, the nature of the contact is a factor too.

I have had several stitches on my head resulting from baton strikes by police during my college days. Lost some teeth in the process too. But I'm still alright. Very lucky I guess.

I enjoyed your site and will definitely be back. Take things easy - good thing the hand wasn't damaged. :-) --Durano, done!

Anonymous said...

OMG! I know this is way after the fact, but hope your recovery is still going well! What a scary feeling! IT is so sad to hear that the water is that polluted...why do govs not care about such things? Really is upsetting. The seagulls are very nice . :)

Artbeat said...

Thanks for all the good wishes,I am slowly recovering. All our beaches once had blue flag status (an international standard that measures various quality aspects of beaches including the water quality.

Needless to say we can no longer boast these quality standards and our status has been removed due to the sea being polluted by sewarage that is pumped in daily.

The world cup soccer tournament takes place here in 2 years time and at the current rate of deterioration I hate to think what standards will be like then.

Goverment in general are allowing the standards to slide and I can visualise this first world country turning into another Zimbawe in the next ten years.

I guess I could start a new blog on African Politics, suffice to say greed, inexperience and a myriad of other problems that seem to plague this continent are slowly creeping into our corner of the world and turning the gem of Africa into just another African mess.

Unknown said...

This painting is gorgeous. I love the vivid colors and your use of ink. I'm a little late with comments, but I do hope you are feeling better now.

Artbeat said...

Thanks Christy

I have pretty much recovered from my mishap. The Sea Gull Painting is strictly water colur. Water colours are a new medium for me and I guess I still follow my oil painting techniques.

I also don't do a wet on wet technique I think the detail I try bring into my paintings would be very difficult using a completely wet process.