Road Tripping to Whale Country...

I've been trying to get out to Hermanus (Whale Country) all year to visit Annie Hamman but gaps haven't been forthcoming and for me to block book out a chunk of time with my schedule, the girl's schedule and Digz' away schedule this year, hasn't proved easy. 

Getting out of Cape Town on a Friday is no easy feat, so I got there a little later than expected and we didn't want to waste any time - we headed straight into the studio after a lovely Sushi Dinner, into the FullCircleClassroom to watch some inspirational tutorials by Misty and once again, completely inspired.

We painted self-portraits intuitively - not for face likeness but for emotive likeness.

We ended up working until around 1.30am.   Crawling into bed with happy hearts.

Still a WIP but I am completely inspired to finish her.

Always a gap for a selfie in my beautiful room.

Annie is a gracious host and I was completely spoilt.

Paint, Eat, Stories and a little sleep - repeat!

My little space in Annie's Studio.

We awoke on Saturday, had a big brekkie and after watching some of Annie's incredible tutorials for the various courses she's working on - our inspiration was there.  (She's working on LifeBook, Let's Face it and Soulful Art)

Check out her website for more details.

Both Annie and her hubby are wonderful film makers and editors in their own right.

We decided to do a collaborative piece and record it too.  We each drew up our own girl and started painting her.  Then we would swap over and put our own marks on each other's work.  Then when we were happy, we would swap back and finish our original side.

the draw up                            stage one                          the first swap

Filming in progress and Annie finishing up.

I called it done - I was exhausted.

We painted for almost 5 hours straight.  I don't think we realised how quickly the time passed.

And I don't think we realised the outcome until we stood back - I was astounded.

The journey was nothing short of extraordinary.

I never knew how I would ever feel about someone painting on my work but it was liberating.

Our objective - to develop our own individual unattachment to outcome.

FC, Annie's hubby asked if we wanted to kill each other in the end - but we really didn't.

We were so stoked and it was so inspiring and just WOW!

I didn't expect the outcome - but I was truly blown away.

In case you don't know my final side is the left and Annie, the right.

Annie will finish editing our video and will share it shortly.

Annie is a creative force and being in her studio was powerfully inspiring.

She's creative on every single level of her life - in her home, with her hubby and beautiful daughter and obviously in her studio.
And let me tell you - it's contagious.

After our shoot and long session of painting, I was exhausted.

Annie kindly let me sleep well into the evening. She was still up and about - I can't believe her strength.
When I arose Annie made me a Russian salad - it was divine.

We headed back into the studio. We chatted so much about art and artists all weekend, about teaching and art and life.
It was truly inspirational, then we watched one more of Misty's tutorials before bed.

We decided to tackle this exercise in the morning - I was just too exhausted.

Stabilo Pencil and white paint.  It was a simply beautiful way to end our weekend together.

I started packing my car and it was with a heavy heart, I said goodbye.

I didn't realise how much I needed this weekend and how much I needed the creative inspiration.

Getting me to work on 3 pieces...  Just WOW!

Check out Annie's Blog for the beautiful pieces she created this weekend.

Thank you Annie - I will never forget this time.

And thank you FC and beautiful little Tullulah for being so gracious with us.