h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi folks! I've uploaded a new batch of paintings to Webshots if anyone's interested ... starting with the Barred Owlet here, just go forward from there:

http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2773750980103203115OXQmgG

Folks who haven't seen the old ones ... please check out my entire album, starting here:

http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/566714222fGvBQi

Thanks!

Very dear Willem,

What a most beautiful pearly spotted owl.

You are so incredibly gifted my dear friend. I do congratulate you. At the moment I do not know how to log in to that site so I cannot write a comment. Verskoon my (Forgive me!) so I cannot comment on your site. I shall have to have a lesson from someone. !!

With a great deal of admiration. What a beautiful pciture.

Christiane AR80
Friday 7th March 2009

Hi Willem as usual just ing n looked earlier but will look tomorrow, still think you should put your prices up

Good work Willem,Do you always work from photo's?

Christiane, it sounds like you only looked at the owlet! There are many other paintings there as well! If you look at the screen there are two small paintings just above and to the right of the main one. Under the right one there's the word 'next' ... if you click that you'll go to another painting.

Anoldgreymoonraker, I usually work from photos when I do paintings of animals or nature scenes. The baobab tree, for instance, is done from one of my own photos taken in the Messina region. Many others are from photos from books or the 'net. In working from a photo I don't try to just reproduce it ... I work creatively with colours, composition, contrast and detail to try and 'improve' it and make a good *painting* of it. I often combine bits from different photos into one 'scene'.

When I do other things like fantasy art - the dragon for instance - I do it entirely out of my head. Drawings and paintings of prehistoric creatures, like the Dinocephalians on my site, usually use photos of skeletons as reference. I 'flesh out' the skeletons and put them in 'natural' poses and fill in the background with appropriate kinds of trees and plants and so on for the time and the place they were living in.

Sounds like fun

Yes Anoldgreymaker it's great fun! It's very pleasant work. I get my stuff and put some music on and then I draw/sketch/paint! The only spot of bother is that I get pains in my body from time to time if I sit too long (I've a condition called fibromyalgia), so I intersperse periods of painting with browsing on the internet, exercising, eating, reading etc. but I try and put several 'sessions' of painting into every day.

Oh dear Willem,

Jy is so slim!!
You are so clever. !!

Correct. I looked for other paintings, but could not find any. I shall now do as you advise. !!

Good luck for your paintings. Why did anoldgreymoonraker say you could charge more for more paintings.? Do you sell them? I would love to puy some.

Woth affection

Christiane.

Hello again Christiane and other folks!

Christiane, have you managed to see the paintings? If not, there's a few other things we can try.

No not yet, but when one of my friends comes I shall se if they can help.

Bye

Christiane
Ar80

Beautiful work, as usual, my friend.

Thanks JEllen! Good luck with your own painting endeavours!

Loved the paintings Willem.

I must see if I can find some photos I have of bush paintings in Australia, just out of interest.

Websailor

Willem I watched a program on the beeb world service over the weekend actually watched it twice, sorry for being so vague but it was about a young guy traveling around the world and he must have passed somewhere near you , I have seen them before but it did show The Boa boa ? trees, He called them upside down trees and the very thorney trees plus a Pied hornbill but the bill was a little more yellow/orange than the one in your pic's, I've been trying to find the names in your pic's but just can't find them , I did try to remember where he was and the names of the trees but my mind was/is on other things at the moment. I do know I immediately thought of you when the program started

Hello folks! Websailor I received your email thanks very much and will respond to it! Yes I find the aboriginal paintings very interesting.

Anoldgreymoonraker, those are baobab trees! The very same as the one I painted. The legend of them growing upside down is widespread here in Africa - as is the species itself! It might be Kenya or Tanzania you saw. Wildlife programs are usually made either in those two countries, or in South Africa.

The hornbills on the program might have been any of several species. There are over 50 species of hornbill in the world of which half occur in Africa and the other half in Asia. They are some of my favourite birds in the world and I would like it if I could paint all the species! So far I've painted the Yellowbilled Hornbill, Monteiro's Hornbill, Southern Ground Hornbill (those three from Africa), Indian Pied Hornbill, and Sulawesi Wrinkled Hornbill (those two from Asia).

Anyways thanks for thinking of me!

Very dear Willem,

I have just looked at all your drawings, paintings, photos etc.

Hulle is wonderlik.

Thank you so much.

I have a suggestion.

why don;t you make a calendar of either the wild animlas or the birds. I loved the giraffe and of course the wild fig tree.
You have time to make a calendar for 2010.

I have asked you about the wite browed robin. Do you know if anyone has recorded it's song.

You could do a video, combining the sounds of the animal, birds etc. and with an accompanying commentary talking about the habitat and where it is found.

go for it.!!

Did you watch the three Nations Rugby on Saturday. My daughter did in PerthWA.

You are obviously up and about. I wonder if you will read this stragiht away. !! Or have you flown ?

Christiane

0800
Tuesday 18th March.2009

Hello Christiane!

No I'm still here! But won't be much longer. I have to go draw a colouring-picture for children.

Thanks for the suggestion of making a calendar! I think I have enough paintings to fill it; but I'll have to get someone to make the actual calendar for me! I'll see about it.

As for the white-browed robin ... yes, many of its calls have been recorded. I have a set of 8 casettes with the calls of Southern African birds ... the vast majority of species are on them! But certainly there might be calls of the white-browed robin still unrecorded, since it has quite a repertoire and I think birds in different areas will have subtly different 'accents'!

My dad has a video camera but with his illness hasn't yet come as far as learning how to use it and downloading and editing videos on the computer! Once we can learn that though we can start making videos!

I actually did watch some of the Three Nations Rugby. That is to say, I sat in front of the TV for a while while it was on. But I didn't register what I was seeing. I can't make head or tails out of rugby. I might sit there looking at the screen and my dad might go out briefly, come back in again, and ask me if a try has been scored, and I wouldn't be able to tell him!

At any rate I'm just very happy you finally got to see some of my art! Thanks for looking and for your compliment!

Love,

Willem

Willem I've just watched the next part of that program I talked about earlier,It's Simon Reeve following the Tropics of Capricorn around the world roughly, l'm sure he wasn't so far from you last week, he also went through Madagascar last week , this week he was in Australia.

I saw some of those a while ago Moonraker. The Australian one was awesome. The trucks were enormous

Websailor

Just watched the Australian part again ,those truck trains were more than 50 mtr's long.
Willem how far are you /were you from the line of Capricorn?