There were three reasons I agreed to fly for 16 hours to London and another 16 hours back again in July. 1. Michael came and I wanted to expand his horizons, 2. to visit Flanders in Brussels 3. to see the Peter Paul Rubens paintings at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts in Brussels. Today, I’m sharing my pictures of the third visit. Spectacular paintings that were worth the travelling.
Picture caption: Front of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts with the decorate door. We didn’t go in here. Picture caption: This is the back door where we exited the museumPicture caption: This is the door into one of the galleries in the Old Masters section of the museumPicture caption: The martyrdom of St Livinus by Peter Paul Rubens. I adore those little fat cherubs.Picture caption: Pieta with St Francis by Peter Paul RubensPicture caption: The Assumption of the Virgin by Peter Paul RubensPicture caption: The coronation of the Virgin by Peter Paul RubensPicture caption: The ascent to Calvary by Peter Paul Rubens
The is my video of one of Rubens artworks called And Workshop
When I was eight, my sister, Catherine, was four, and Hayley and Laura were fifteen months and six weeks old, respectively, my family moved to a small coastal village called Fish Hoek in the Western Cape. Our cottage was a temporary furnished rental for a period of three months while the partly built house my parents purchased was finished.
Mom was busy all day long with the babies, so Catherine and I walked to the beach on our own. Our route took us through the town and past the local grocery store. Catherine and I had been taught to be kind and helpful to others, especially elderly people. I had also been a Brownie for a few months before my family relocated from Johannesburg. Helping others was an important part of the Brownies Association’s ethos.
During one of our walks through the town, we happened to see an elderly lady struggling to carry heavy shopping bags. In those days the bags were made of brown paper and the bottoms had to be supported or they broke. Naturally, I immediately seized this opportunity to be a good Brownie and rushed over with an offer to carry the old lady’s bags for her. She accepted gratefully, and I carried the two heavy bags to her flat a few streets away. Her apartment block had stairs and no lift, which necessitated my carrying the bags up four long flights of stairs before we finally reached the door to her flat. I remember my arms aching from carrying those bags with the bottom one cradled in both my arms and the second laid on top of it. It was most uncomfortable.
The lady was pleased and invited us in for a cup of tea. This was the beginning of a lovely friendship. Once a week, Cath and I would visit this old lady and have a cup of tea with her. She always provided a delicious spread of homemade biscuits. She loved to crochet and showed me some beautiful pin cushions she’d made. I admired them so much she gifted me one on the day of our last visit before moving to our new home. I kept that pin cushion, bright green with white edging, for years and years.
I have often wondered over the years what happened to her. I hope she was happy and managed to get her groceries home without incident. I have no idea how she would have carried them up the stairs.
All the photographs below were taken in the afternoon. The first three are London scenes from the balcony of our hotel room near Westminster Bridge and the street art consists of photographs of construction walling street art taken in Bruxelles, Belgium. These pictures all relate to one length of construction walling.
Picture caption: You can see The Shard in the background.Picture caption: Close up of The ShardPicture caption: I snapped this street art picture on the way to the airport on our last day in Bruxelles
You have a great talent for drawing figurines and portraits. What attracts you to this particular subject matter?
This begins with my background in fashion design. The college course I took was in Design and Technology, not illustration. However, a tiny part of the course was dedicated to fashion illustration.
During my time in film, I utilized drawing to explain to directors what I was up to. The drawings were only okay, but they got the design across.
It was blog pal, Holly (House of Heart), who got me drawing fictitious characters for fun, via gagging around in comments.
It started with Boogapony Holly, a character who did a Go-Go dance in front of street art and graffiti, then became a new age Love Child.
Above: Boogapony as a Love Child by the Golden Gate Bridge.
From there, Holly and I created a Super Hero – Princess Blue Holly. Drawing had become a lot of fun at this point.
Above – First Princess Blue Holly drawing – 2019 and More recently PBH dominates an evil puppet. PBH changes outfits for each “Gowntoon” mission. Then I began drawing Art Gowns on some blog pals, to become part of the stories.
Above: Models Holly (as RR) Shey and Dale
Above Models – Holly, Gigi and Marina
Do you have a particular method you use for drawing figures? Do you start with any particular body part? Do you complete the outline of the entire figure and then add the details?
Yes!
I start with an oval for the head. Then, it’s the gesture. I do a few swooping lines to capture how the body feels as it poses.
If the feeling is cool, then I do a few lines for shoulders, bust, waist, hips and feet.
If I haven’t ruined the feeling of the gesture a this point, I continue with details. If I lose the feel, I usually stop.
You clothe many of your figures in intricate and detailed dresses, some of which are period designs. How do you go about researching clothing from particular period? I have tried to research clothing for both men and women from varying time periods and have found it quite difficult to get good details and pictures.
So, the study of Fashion Design & Technology included “Fashion History”. So, how did they get the clothes to look like that, in any era? Well, that’s where the technology comes in.
Example: The Renaissance – pattern cutting was not a thing, clothes were draped. So, we learn about “how” they made clothes fit. Lacing up a square over a flowy under piece makes something fit. A corset is laced to make you fit it. The idea of a cup to fit a breast did not come about until the early 20th century.
Many types of pleats, gathers, tucks, etc. were use to make clothes drape over/fit body shapes. With the advent of patterns in the 1800’s, came darts to make clothing fit.
Once the newly formed middle class Victorians got their hands on patterns, they used the patterns over and over. That, along with the invention of the sewing machine, gave them time to go wild with embellishments: embroidery, trapunto, ruffles, flounces, beading, dying, appliqué, etc. Sure, all that was around before, but it was for the rich, only.
Above: Rebeca Budd (Art Gowns’ Gowntoons Art Director & Holly as RR, in Victorian outfits.
Also, Victorian times saw the advent of synthetic dyes, creating eras of popular colours going forth. Until then dyes were naturally derived from mollusk shells, beets, onion skins and various other plants and lifeforms.
Point is when you understand all of this, you can look at a painting from any era and know how they constructed that garment, therefore you can draw it. You can also design and draw whatever you want, from any era.
Portraits
Above: Jim Morrison
I start with a photo of the person, and crop off the head to what I want. I print that out on 8 x10 paper. I draw crosshairs through the photo of the face. I do the same on a page of 11 x 14 drawing paper.
I begin where the crosshairs meet. That is usually where an eye, between the eyes or top of the bridge of the nose is, and rough that in. From there I rough in the rest of the eyes, brows, nose, top of head, lips and chin. I tried using a grid, but that never works for me. I lose the feel of the face, the expression. Without feel the portrait does not become the person.
Then it’s a series of refinements.
Above: Gloria Steinem pencil drawing, photographed with & without & a warm filter. Most of my portraits are all lead pencil. I use a full range of leads, smudging sticks, facial tissue and various erasers. I did Janis Joplin with water colour pencils, as her days in pop music were a colourful period.
Below is my first full figure portrait. Tina Turner – Pencil sketch photographed & then edited on basic Mac Photos that comes with the laptop.
Does a particular subject matter call to you when you get an idea or see something you want to draw? I find that certain pictures really attract me as an artist and I really want to draw and paint them. Not all ideas attract me as strongly and I only proceed with the projects that call the loudest.
Definitely, I am inspired by various things. The Art Gowns Models or Boogapony drawings are inspired by ideas Holly and I toss around. IE: What would they wear in Miami? Or if they were movie stars in the 1940’s.
When I saw the Tissot exhibit at the AGO, I was wildly inspired to do faux Tissot style Victorian gowns.
Pop culture figures inspire me. Imagining characters from books inspires me.
Above from left to right: Sam from John W. Howell’s Eternal Road series — Lady Kara from Shehanne Moore’s book His Judas Bride — Estelle from Roberta Eaton Cheadle’s book A Ghost and his Gold — Catling (as a teen & with her tattoos) from D. Wallace Peach’s book Catling’s Bane (the Rose Shield series).
Right now I’m working on some drawings inspired by a series of poems Holly writes called – The Sad Café. This will be the second collection. In this collection I expand into full scene drawing.
Picture caption: Cover of Run for the Roses featuring an axe, a fluffy hat and a bunch of red roses
What Amazon says
The Headless Horseman has mellowed over the centuries, somewhat. Who knew that he is a horse lover, and needs Lizzie’s help. An unaffiliated witch is torturing race horses in an effort to skew the parimutuel betting odds.
Can Lizzie and the hat find this renegade witch before one of these beautiful animals gets hurt? Can they do it before Detlef, The Horseman, takes things into his own hands and violates the terms of his magical parole.
It seems like everyone is standing in their way this time, including a team of YouTube ghost hunters and members of the coven itself.
Saddle up for this supernatural ride through the world of Lizzie and the hat.
My review
Run for the Roses is another dive into a world of supernatural events directed by mythical creatures who fly just below the perception of humanity. All of humanity, except for Lizzie, the possessor of ‘the Hat’, an unusual and ancient creature who choses to take the form of various hats that can be worn by the current member of the family it has adopted. The Hat has been in Lizzie’s family for decades and came to her following the death of her grandfather. Together, Lizzie and the Hat have been on seven previous adventures where they fight mythical creatures who have chosen to follow a selfish path of personal gain of some sort. Lizzie and the Hat are, in essence, the champions of ‘good’ mythical creatures who want to live in harmony with humanity. The duo, together with helpers and friends, prevent discord and disruption in the human world that could have negative implications for everyone.
This story steps up the role of the ‘Headless Horseman’. Detlef made an appearance in an earlier book and it was very enjoyable to see him making a greater appearance in this book. Detlef is a champion of horses and is angered by the actions of witches who have summoned a ‘maar’ to terrify and torture horses for the purpose of changing the outcome of horse races. Detlef needs Lizzie and the Hat to help him destroy the maar and end the reign of terror.
As always, this short and fast story is packed with dark humour, fascinating mythical creatures, and an exciting story line. This book introduces the Gravedigger who I really enjoyed. Lizzie’s interactions with her band and their various gigs create a fun and relatable background setting for the adventures.
If you are looking to escape the anxieties of life through some well written and highly entertaining escapism, you will love this book.
Merril asked poets to write a piece of prosery, no longer than 144 words, using a specified phrase from the poem “The Magnificent Frigatebird” by Ada Limón. I used the phrase as a heading for my piece. I wrote an initial piece and then I edited it down to achieve the 144-word requirement. I have included both pieces as the longer pieces includes a lot more details about one of my favourite birds, the ostrich. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/05/12/prosery-ada-limon/
“I have no skills for flight or wings to skim the waves effortlessly, like the wind itself.”
This is the 144-word piece:
“Mama, why can’t we fly. We’re birds, aren’t we? All the other birds can fly.”
“Well, Little One, we are ostriches. We don’t need to fly. We have evolved to become flightless.”
“But Mama, I want to fly. I want to be the same as my friends. I don’t like being different.”
“You should be proud to be part of a species of bird that has adapted so well to its desert home. It’s more useful for us to have speed and endurance. We can sprint at over 70 kilometres an hour.
“And we do use our wings, we just don’t use them to fly.”
“I remember how you sheltered me and my siblings from the rain and the sun with your wings, Mama. Thank you for explaining. I feel much better now and I’m going to tell my friends how special I am.”
This is the longer and more detailed piece:
“Mama, why can’t we fly. We’re birds, aren’t we? All the other birds can fly, even my friend the kori bustard.”
“Well, Little One, we are ostriches. We no longer fly because we don’t need to. In the distant past we did fly but over time we have evolved to become flightless.”
“But Mama, I want to fly. I want to be the same as all my bird friends. They say I’m not a proper bird because I can’t fly and my wings are useless. It makes me sad.”
“Ostriches are proper birds, my son. You should be proud to be part of a species of bird that has adapted so well to its desert home. We don’t use our wings for flight because it was more advantageous for us to develop speed and endurance on the ground. You must remember that ostriches breed on the ground and we also take advantage of abundant ground-level food sources. Our main predators are hyenas and lions, so we need to be able to outrun them. And we can outrun them. We are the fastest runners of any bird or other two-legged creature in the world. Did you know that? We can sprint at over 70 kilometres an hour.
“And we do use our wings. We don’t use them to fly, that is true, but we use our wings for many useful purposes. Our wings reach a span of approximately 2 metres and we use them in mating displays, to protect our chicks, and to cover the skin of our upper legs and flanks to conserve heat when it’s cold. We also use our wings as rudders to help us change direction while running.”
Little One cuddles up to Mama. “I remember how you sheltered me and my siblings from the rain and the sun with your wings, Mama. You are right, your wings were very important to protect us. Thank you, Mama, for explaining. I feel much better now and I’m going to tell my friends how special I am.”
Picture caption: Mama ostrich with brown and white feathersPicture caption: Papa ostrich with black and white feathersPicture caption: Mana and Papa ostrich together
Regular readers of this blog will know that I am currently undertaking a modernised rewrite of Dante’s Inferno. I now have a working title for this poem – Gaia’s Redemption. Anyhow, Mish’s Tuesday prompt was to write a poem including personification. This prompt was perfect for the first twenty lines of my re-write. In Canto II, I have agreed to undertake a journey through the nine levels of the Sixth Mass Extinction with my spirit elephant guide. I have entered the cave that takes us down into the bowels of the spirit world. If you are interested, you can read an analysis of Canto 2 of Dante’s Inferno here: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/inferno/canto-2
A living, breathing creature, this Precambrian era cave
It’s 2.8-billion-year-old skin wrinkled by wear and time
Access defended by minions; entry limited to the brave
Their glowing forms a marriage of dolomite and lime
The monster silently screamed its uncertainty and rage
Spirit elephant paid it no heed, gliding past unchallenged
I drew in a great breath, plunged forward, ducking under
Wall of spear like stalactites from which moisture dripped
Somewhere deep below, a gong sounded like thunder
Death’s hand upon me, I ventured into the stone crypt 10
***
“Guide, I am concerned your trust in me is misplaced
I don’t know how to achieve your lofty expectations
What if I disappoint you? It will be a humiliating disgrace
I don’t want to face the environmentalists’ accusations”
My Guide did not pause or speak, just shone a soft light
Which illuminated two formations beneath the Hand of God
Symbolising the visual, the first’s gazed through dark eyes
The other gripped a pen between slender white fingers
Understanding came, pictures held power and told no lies
The written word facilitates communication with thinkers 20
My cave is based on the Sudwala Caves in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Here are some photographs from my recent visit to these caves.
Picture caption: Wall of the Sudwala Cave. This is a very ancient cave system, the oldest in the world, and is formed in dolomitePicture caption: The Screaming MonsterPicture caption: This formation (the two small stalactites), is called Lot and his Wife – I thought the formation above looked like the Hand of God.Picture caption: This formation is called Kentucky Fried Chicken. It hangs down from the ceiling of the cave
Below is my YouTube short of Somcuba’s Gong inside the Sudwala Caves
I am not much of a team player. I have had some very bad experiences where my hard work and creative solutions have been accredited to more senior people on my so called team. I’ve also had situations where the team doesn’t listen and a crisis results. These situations have left a bad taste in my mouth and now I prefer to run my own processes with as little involvement from other people as possible.
Picture caption: Cover of Bugbies by Dave Williams in black and yellow
What Amazon says
These are not traditional zombies. These people have been zombified by parasitoid wasps. These are bugbies.
They don’t roam in search of brains to eat. They serve as hosts for wasp eggs and larvae, which aim to grow into adult wasps and find new hosts for the next generation.
Bugbies is about several people who are impacted by this fantastical shift of one wasp species to jump hosts from another insect to humans. Charlotte, who was nearly turned into a host. Isha, the neurosurgeon who treats her. Lucia, an entomologist who is brought in as an advisor. Brock, who wishes to buy a bugbie and show it off to his friends. His wife Daniella, and their gardener Lewis, who deal with that decision and take action in response.
My review
I really enjoyed this unique and interesting story. I am not sure what genre it is, but for me it’s a mix of sci-fi, dystopian fiction, family drama, with just the right amount of non-fiction information to make it work. The novel is told from the points of view of several characters from different backgrounds and social standings and I really liked that. It gave insight into the themes and main story line form a variety of different perspectives and was a clever way to share certain fact patterns and information. The author also made use of other innovative ideas like sharing the content (in writing) of homemade you tube videos shared on the internet and also blog posts. Another unique way of sharing events and information outside of the main characters lives and scope of knowledge.
The story starts off with Charlotte who is feeling unwell. Within a short period, Charlotte slips into a coma and her husband races her to the hospital. Charlotte undergoes a series of tests and astonishes the neurologist and the world when the tumours in her brain turn out to be something different to everyone’s experience and expectations. Charlotte is the first, but she is far from the last. The country is soon in the grip of anxiety and paranoia equal to what we experienced during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Lucia Ramirez is a young professor at a university. She is an expert in her field and she introduces different thoughts relating to the unusual situation. She also lectures young students which facilitates the introduction of ideas and thoughts about the situation from the younger generation. Clever! Lucia is a great role model for women as she has worked towards a goal and achieved her aims in a world that has historically been dominated by men.
Danielle Hawkins is the spoiled and wealthy older woman in this story. Her husband is a wealthy man who is desperate to keep up with the Jones or, even better, to be ahead of them. Their son is a spoiled rich kid but he has some redeeming characteristics, as does Danielle. Mr Hawkins is a selfish and egocentrical man who will stop at nothing to show off to his friends and family. I didn’t like him and he didn’t develop any redeeming qualities. He was, however, typical of a certain type of rich man and his actions and behaviours were very believable.
Lewis was my favourite character. He is a young father who has taken a job below his abilities due to need and circumstances. He works hard and tries to improve himself and take good care of his family. He is certainly not perfect and makes some silly decisions, but he is a good guy and he was easy to give wholehearted support too.
I thought this unusual story was well written and nicely paced. I read it quickly and was a bit sad when I reached the end. The ending was satisfying but I really liked some of the characters and could have spent more time with them.
Surely many people are named “Dave Williams” and this particular Dave is a redheaded one who enjoys writing speculative fiction, drawing, and reading. He lives in Maryland with his wonderful wife, two inspirational daughters, and two cats (a lazy one and a playful one).
roberta-writes.com 