Art in the Veld - the joy of painting landscapes en pleine aire at Soutbosch

World Wetlands Day is marked on 2 February every year, and the whole month is usually set aside in the area to celebrate the natural heritage of the southernmost wetlands.

Against this backdrop, local artist Mosie Hope held an art workshop as part of the Soutbosch Wetlands Day celebration on Saturday, 19 February.

Mosie introduced the participants to various landscape painting techniques during a brief workshop session in her homestead.

Afterwards, the artists took to the hills and chose a vista of their liking to paint. Jeannie McKinnon, an artist in her own right, took the photographs of the artists in action in the veld, in the surrounds of the Soutbosch homestead and the salt pans.

The workshop was a first for the Agulhas National Park and Agulhas Heritage Association, the joint organisers of Saturday’s event.

Mosie hopes that special events such as her art workshop en pleine aire, might help to draw people out of the comfort zones where they have been tucked away for two years.

The enthusiasm of the participants showed that she succeeded.

Ora Laubscher