A Special Place - Clarens




Endless mountain views

 This past weekend we just upped and went to one of our favourite places in SA – Clarens!   Left the boys at home with gran with no guilty feelings and took a very slow, very scenic and very beautiful drive to the Free State. It truly is a beautiful area no matter what season we're in. In winter the mountains are covered in snow, in spring it is absolutely breathtaking and around April when everything is dry in Jhb and yellow ochre in color in Clarens it is all about gold!  

We had a wonderful picnic, just the two of us, visited our friend Tina and then it was time to visit the galleries.

I love going to Clarens.  It’s a small village where you can park your car and just walk around the square and discover little shops with nice goodies to eat, to buy or to just admire.

I enjoy the galleries for the inspiration I get while there - Blou Donki, Johan Smith, Tina de Beer, Robert Badenhorst, ArteFunto and Essensual are some of my favourite galleries.


Poplar trees turning gold

The famous poplar trees turn from deep green to gold that is another reason why it is always busy with photographers and artists.  Every time we go there we find something different.



From dramatic to awesome blue skies everyday is different

This year we visited in April (my eager photographer looking for gold trees) and he gave Tina some of his photos for her portfolio file; material for new paintings. She returned the favor with an oil painting, that is why we made the impromptu visit last weekend. 


November is cherry festival time 






We collected our new painting! It is a beautiful typical Clarens scene.
Bought loads of cherries. 
And I left there rested, rejuvenated and very inspired! Ready to start my new painting.


Any chance you get go down to the Free State and do yourself a favor drive slowly so you can take in the space, the mountains, the breathtaking views and the beautiful South African skies. Stop at Clarens and take in the art. I LOVE my country.