Blombos and dried mountain ferns (Rhythm series) 800x800mm

This painting brings together the soft cream flowers and fresh green stems of Blombos with the delicate, weathered forms of dried mountain ferns, their leaves taking on beautiful purple-silver tones as they dry. Blombos is a particularly interesting fynbos plant because its name is used for several Cape species with small, papery flowers that are well adapted to the region’s dry conditions. The contrast between fresh growth and dried foliage reflects the constant cycle of change within the fynbos.

Pastel creams, soft greens and blue-greens are set against deeper foliage, while an orange-pink glow moves across the upper part of the painting and is echoed in darker burnt-sienna marks through the middle. Fresh, expressive brushstrokes create movement throughout, bringing together the softness of the flowers with the more weathered beauty of the dried plant material.

This painting is part of my Rhythm series:

There is a rhythm in the fynbos that I have come to recognise through years of walking, observing and painting it. It is found in the repetition of forms, the clustering of flowers and the movement of stems in the wind. Nothing exists in isolation; each element contributes to a greater rhythm.

My Rhythm series grew from this awareness.

I am drawn less to depicting fynbos as a botanical study and more to capturing its energy – the movement, repetition and presence that I experience when I spend time among it. I simplify shapes and colours, allowing the plants to become expressive marks and gestures. Through this process, the paintings begin to develop their own rhythm: layers of colour, recurring forms and textured brushstrokes moving across the surface.

There is also a rhythm in my practice. I walk, I observe, I gather impressions, I paint, and then I step away. I allow the work to settle before returning to it. Sometimes a painting unfolds quickly; other times it asks me to wait. I have learned to trust this process rather than force an outcome.

Fynbos itself follows an ancient rhythm of growth, flowering, drying, fire and renewal. Its resilience is a constant reminder that change and transformation are not interruptions to life, but part of its natural cycle.

In these paintings, I am exploring that sense of rhythm – in nature, in the creative process, and in life itself. A rhythm of movement and stillness, abundance and restraint, letting go and beginning again.

Ultimately, Rhythm is an invitation to pause, observe and become aware of the patterns that surround us – and to trust that, even when we cannot see the whole picture, there is a higher rhythm carrying us forward – bringing restoration and new life.