Scratchboard / Scraperboard Art by Solly Gutman 'The Colour of Black and White' - BLOG

Here's looking at you!

5/31/2020

The cheetah is the world's fastest land mammal. With acceleration that would leave most automobiles in the dust, a cheetah can go from 0 to 60 miles an hour in only three seconds. Before unleashing their speed, cheetahs use exceptionally keen eyesight to scan their grassland environment for signs of prey—especially antelope and hares. This big cat is a daylight hunter that benefits from stealthy movement and a distinctive spotted coat that allows it to blend easily into high, dry grasses. Most wild cheetahs are found in eastern and southwestern Africa. Interestingly, the cheetah is the only big cat which doesn't roar.

Browse through my online gallery for more images of African animals and birds, botanical studies and
detailed images of iconic buildings and places in and around Cape Town in both monochrome and colour.

Crowned Crane

5/17/2020

Gray crowned cranes are every bit as majestic as their name suggests. One of 15 species of crane, these long-legged birds have gray bodies, white wings with brown and gold feathers, white cheeks, and bright red gular sacs underneath their chins. Most strikingly, a spray of stiff golden feathers forms a crown around their heads.

Browse through my online gallery for more images of African animals and birds, botanical studies and
detailed images of iconic buildings and places in and around Cape Town in both monochrome and colour.

Bird of Paradise - The Strelitzia Reginae

5/10/2020

In full flower here now, the Strelitzia reginae is a well-known South African plant, identifiable by its striking colours and unique shape. Strelitzia reginae is also known as the bird of paradise (resembling the colours and shape of an exotic bird), the crane flower and the orange strelitzia.

The vivid orange and purple flowers are large, hardy and spiked. This beautiful flower has made this one of the most popular plants in South Africa, and it can be found flanking the major national roads and in gardens all over the country.

South Africa is the only country in the world in which Strelitzia reginae occurs naturally. They are found in abundance from the KwaZulu-Natal province on the east coast, throughout the Eastern Cape and in Cape Town and the Western Cape.

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Pop over to my online gallery for more botanical images as well as images of African animals and birds,
together with iconic buildings and places in and around Cape Town in both monochrome and colour.

An Image of Cape Town Harbour

5/3/2020

I was delighted to be asked for my permission to include this image, entitled 'Smoke Break', in the latest edition of the Platinum Creative Arts Grade 9 Learning Book which is due to be published by Pearson Press South Africa later in the year.

I completed the original scratchboard work in 2011 which depicts a typical scene from the past at Table Bay Harbour in Cape Town.

Table Bay Harbour traces its roots back to 1652 when Jan van Riebeeck of the Dutch East India Company established a supply station there. A vicious storm in 1858 saw 30 ships blown ashore and wrecked, with huge loss of life. Lloyd's of London declined all further insurance on ships in Table Bay in winter, resulting in the British Colonial Government starting the construction, in 1860, of the first breakwater.

This developed into the Victoria and Alfred Basin, the first safe harbour. There has been extensive expansion since then and today the V&A Waterfront is a premier tourist attraction.

Visit my online gallery for more images of Cape Town and surrounds, its people, buildings, birds, animals and plant life.

Simon's Town Penguins

4/19/2020

These beautiful birds have taken to the streets during lockdown.
See them waddling down Main Road, Simon's Town!

Visit my online gallery for more images of Cape Town and surrounds, its birds, animals and plant life.

Eggs in a basket

4/12/2020

Something simple for this reflective holiday time.

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Pop into my online gallery for more images of iconic buildings and places in and around Cape Town,
also animal and bird images, botanical works in both monochrome and colour.

All images are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on ready-to-hang stretched canvas.
Click here for prices.

Contact me
by phone on +27 79 247 7532
by email to gutmansolly@gmail.com

Historical Cape Town - Rose Street, Bo-Kaap

4/5/2020

Bo-Kaap, the 'Malay Quarter' of Cape Town, was built largely by and for the artisans of Cape Town between 1790 and 1825. It was subsequently occupied by people of the Moslem faith including political exiles from Java and Ceylon, who moved into the area around 1820. Liberated slaves also moved into the area after 1834.

Over the years the area has come to be identified as the heart of the cultural life of the Malay people. Bo-Kaap extends over 34 ha (85 acres) bounded by Buitengracht, Rose Street, Carisbrook Street, Strand Street and the slopes of Signal Hill.

The housing is made up of small, mostly single-storeyed, flat roofed houses; staggered to step down the slopes. All the houses face on to the street, with access to the front door immediately off the pavement via the narrow stoeps which have low brick walls and stoep-seats at each end. The straight parapets are decorated with mouldings.

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Pop into my online gallery for more images of iconic buildings and places in and around Cape Town,
also animal and bird images, botanical works in both monochrome and colour.

All images are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on ready-to-hang stretched canvas.
Click here for prices.

Place your order
by phone on +27 79 247 7532
by email to gutmansolly@gmail.com

Adderley Street, Cape Town

3/22/2020

Adderley Street is the main street of the central business district of Cape Town. The street was originally named Heerengracht, after the canal ("gracht") which ran down its centre, and which had its origins in the rivers from Table Mountain. At the time the street was more of a wide walkway beside the canal, which was crossed by various stone bridges.

The network of canals were covered over in the 1860s. The Heerengracht river and canal therefore became an underground pipe-line. For many years the street was residential, lined with large oak trees, but by 1850 it had become strongly commercial in character.

Mayor Hercules Jarvis named it Adderley Street in 1850, to honour British Parliamentarian Charles Bowyer Adderley (elevated to the peerage as Baron Norton in 1878) who fought successfully against the plan for the British government to make Cape Town into another penal colony.

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Visit my online gallery for more animal and bird images, botanical works and images of iconic buildings and places in and around Cape Town in both monochrome and colour.

All images are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on ready-to-hang stretched canvas.
Click here for prices.

Place your order
by phone on +27 79 247 7532
by email to gutmansolly@gmail.com

The African Elephant

3/15/2020

The African elephant is the largest animal walking the Earth. Their herds wander through 37 countries in Africa. There are estimated to be approximately 415,000 in the wild. Standing up to 11 feet tall, a fully grown male can weight 6 tons.
The species is classified as 'vulnerable' by the World Wildlife Fund - read more here.

Visit my online gallery for more animal and bird images, botanical works and images of iconic buildings and places in and around Cape Town in both monochrome and colour.

All images are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on ready-to-hang stretched canvas.
Click here for prices.

Place your order
by phone on +27 79 247 7532
by email to gutmansolly@gmail.com

Simon's Town - history beyond the city

3/8/2020

Simon’s Town is a delightful destination about 40 km south of Cape Town. On the way to Cape Point, this quaint town is the home of the South African navy and is steeped in nautical history. The cobbled streets are alive with restored cottages and homes, whilst the main road is an assortment of shops, coffee shops and restaurants.
Simon’s Town’s historical mile, St George’s Street, has 21 buildings over 150 years old and includes a local museum, the navy museum and a toy museum. This stretch also includes the Church of St Francis, said to be the oldest Anglican Church in the country, a Mosque built in 1926, and the Dido Valley Cemetery, filled with gracious headstones made virtually illegible by the salt-laden sea air and wind.

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Visit the gallery for more images of iconic building and places in and around Cape Town. I also have collections of botanical works, animal and bird images in both monochrome and colour.

All images are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on ready-to-hang stretched canvas.
Click here for prices.

Place your order
by phone on +27 79 247 7532
by email to gutmansolly@gmail.com