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.

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.

​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.

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.

SAVE THE RHINO!
World Rhino Day is on September 22 and celebrates all five species of rhino: Black, white, greater one-horned, Sumatran and Javan rhinos. World Rhino Day was first announced by WWF-South Africa in 2010.
It has since grown to become a global phenomenon, uniting NGOs, zoos, cause-related organizations, businesses, and concerned individuals from nearly every corner of the world.
You can find out more about the cause and even download some rhino tunes here 

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.

Next Saturday, the 21st of September is World Clean Up Day - a global social action project to clean up solid waste including all the debris which has accumulated in our oceans and which gets washed up on our beaches. South Africa's Clean Up and Recycle Week started this weekend in neighbourhoods, around water courses and beaches.

We have beautiful beaches all around the South African coastline, and with better awareness and on-going action, there's  hope that they will stay that way. For more information about environmental issues and initiatives visit - www.wessa.co.za

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.

​Proteas usually flower during spring time and are used for ornamental practices as cut flowers and for decoration. Protea cynaroides (above), the king protea, is South Africa’s national flower, symbolizing change and transformation..

Proteas attracted the attention of botanists visiting the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th century. Many species were introduced to Europe in the 18th century, enjoying a unique popularity at the time amongst botanists.
The genus Protea was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form at will because they have such a wide variety of forms. 

Most proteas occur south of the Limpopo River. However, 92% of the species occurs only in the Cape Floristic Region, a narrow belt of mountainous coastal land from Clanwilliam to Grahamstown. The extraordinary richness and diversity of species characteristic of the Cape Flora are thought to be caused in part by the diverse landscape where populations can become isolated from each other and in time develop into separate species.

​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

It's the first day of spring, so to celebrate, I'm offering a special 3 for 2 offer on my ever-popular A5 prints on canvas for the month of September.

The prints measure 148 x 210mm and are presented on canvas which has been stretched onto a spruce frame.
​They are priced at R250 each and are ready to hang.

The botanical images come with either a black or a white background. Below are some examples.
Click here for more.

All prices exclude delivery and are non-vatable. View the full canvas print price list here.

​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

Spring has made a welcome return to the Western Cape. The winter rains have done their work and now the sun shines down on the land. Swathes of spring flowers carpet the landscape and the warm wind blows away the winter cobwebs. Suddenly everything is alive and brimming with expectation.
Our spring flower season lasts about 6 weeks. Here are some of the best places to see the flowers.