Scratchboard / Scraperboard Art by Solly Gutman 'The Colour of Black and White'
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The Ostriches of Oudtshoorn

10/27/2019

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The quiet town of Oudtshoorn lies between the majestic mountains of the Klein Karoo. In winter, snow covers the nearby mountain peaks and in summer temperatures sizzle. Its dry, extreme climate has much to do with the town’s success, where once ostrich farmers bathed in brandy and papered their walls in pound notes, when Oudtshoorn became known as the ostrich capital of the world.

It began when ostrich feathers became a major European and British fashion accessory in the mid-1800s. Oudtshoorn farmers were quick to realise that the Karoo environment was ideal to raise ostriches and began ripping up their agricultural fields and domesticating wild birds. Breeding pairs of birds thrived and farmers pocketed up to R200 per kilogram for their feathers, an astonishing amount in 1884.

Although the demand for ostrich feathers has drastically decreased, their skins are now used to produce high-end fashion accessories. Ostrich meat has become a popular alternative to beef or lamb. As a result, Oudtshoorn continues as an active ostrich farming town, boasting the largest number of ostriches in the world.

​​All my works are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on stretched canvas.
Visit the online gallery here to view my available work.
​
Place your order
by phone on +27 79 247 7532
by email to gutmansolly@gmail.com
contact me below or inbox me on facebook: Solly Gutman Scratchboard Art

Other prints and a range of lifestyle products are available from Fine Art America - worldwide shipping available.
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The Crane Flower

10/20/2019

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Picture
Native to South Africa, the crane flower (Strelitzia reginae) is the most commonly known garden strelitzia. It grows wild in the coastal regions of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal in warm valleys and thickets, between other shrubs, and along riverbanks and clearings in the coastal bush.

It forms large evergreen clumps of stiff grey-green leaves and startling flowers that resemble an exotic bird species. The flowers stand out above the foliage, at the tips of long stalks, and are bright orange with purple edges and bright blue tongues. Mature plants are very floriferous, with flowers in autumn, winter and spring. The crane flower is a slow grower, but is long-lived; and can eventually reach 1.5m tall and 2m wide.

With its striking form and unusual flowers, has become a favourite garden subject in warm climates around the world; and has adapted so happily to foreign climates that it has even been adopted as the civic emblem of the American City of Los Angeles.


All my works are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on stretched canvas.
Visit the online gallery here to view my available work.
​
Place your order
by phone on +27 79 247 7532
by email to gutmansolly@gmail.com
contact me below or inbox me on facebook: Solly Gutman Scratchboard Art

Other prints and a range of lifestyle products are available from Fine Art America - worldwide shipping available.

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Aloe Striata

10/13/2019

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Our South African aloes are in full bloom just now. This species, which has the common name 'coral aloe', is found widely across the Cape on rocky slopes and in the semi-arid Karoo area.​ The Coral aloe's species name, "striata", means "stripes", and refers to the long lines (sometimes very faint) on its blue-green leaves.
Picture
​All my works are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on stretched canvas.
Visit the online gallery here to view my available work.
​
Place your order
by phone on +27 79 247 7532
by email to gutmansolly@gmail.com
or inbox me on facebook: Solly Gutman Scratchboard Art

Other prints and a range of lifestyle products are available from Fine Art America - worldwide shipping available.
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Pig's Ears

10/6/2019

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Picture
Cotyledon arbiculata is widespread throughout South Africa, but is usually confined to rocky outcrops in grassland, fynbos and karoo regions. It’s also a widely grown garden plant and now, everywhere you look, it’s in glorious full flower.
The name pig's ears is derived from the oval shape of the grey-green leaves. The brightly coloured flowers attract bees and birds, which feed on the nectar of the plant.
It is a well-known medicinal plant. The fleshy part of the leaf is applied by many South Africans to soften and remove hard corns and warts. The heated leaf is used as a poultice for boils and other accessible inflammations, earache in particular. The Southern Sotho use a dried leaf as a protective charm for an orphan child and as a plaything.

All my works are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on stretched canvas.
Visit the online gallery here to view my available work.
​
Place your order
by phone on +27 79 247 7532
by email to gutmansolly@gmail.com
or inbox me on facebook: Solly Gutman Scratchboard Art

Other prints and a range of lifestyle products are available from Fine Art America - worldwide shipping available.
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    Author

    I started my 'journey' with Scraperboard or Scratchboard Art in 1968. Since then I have been working exclusively in this medium.

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Scratchboard / Scraperboard Artist