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

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

Hanover Street Fish Market, District Six

3/1/2020

The Cape Malay fishermen, who mainly lived in District Six, recognised two seasons. There was the season of the small fish, such as harders, which lasted eight months, then came the season of the big fish, particularly snoek.

The fishermen never risked their money in banks, rather they wrapped their coins in lappies (little bits of rag) and through them on the roof of the four-poster bed which most of them inherited.

They would often discuss the snoek run during the season. An early season, with fat specimens at the outset, portends a wet winter, but if the fish only began to run in late April or early May, the Cape winter would be dry and brief.

A snoek with soft and pinkish flesh is suspect and few will eat it, and if appears slightly luminous when hung in the dark, it must not be eaten even if freshly caught. You have been warned!

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Visit the gallery for more animals, birds, botanicals and images of iconic buildings in and around Cape Town.

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

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

The African Meerkat

2/23/2020

Standing at only 30 cm tall, meerkats, also known as suricates, have captured the attention of television and film audiences around the world because of their endearing appearance and interesting social behaviour.

They depend on group cooperation to survive. They live in groups of 20 to 50 extended family members in large underground tunnels. These family groups are led by an alpha pair, with the female being dominant.

Read more about these fascinating animals.

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Visit the gallery for more animals, birds, botanicals and images of iconic buildings in and around Cape Town.

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

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

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

'Meercat' by Solly Gutman - framed print available from Fine Art America

Gympie Street, Woodstock, Cape Town

2/16/2020

Once a small fishing hamlet, Woodstock began life as Papendorp in the mid-1800s before land reclamation in the 1950s destroyed the magnificent Woodstock Beach. With the increasing English influence after the British occupation of the Cape, the name was changed to the more Anglicised New Brighton before finally becoming Woodstock. The British influence remains strong in the road names, such as Victoria and Albert, and the rows of brick terraced and semi-detached houses that would not be out of place in an English town.

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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.

The Clock Tower at the V & A Waterfront, Cape Town

2/9/2020

The Victorian Gothic-style Clock Tower is an icon of the old Cape Town harbour.

It was the original Port Captain's Office built in 1882. The pointed Gothic window surrounds the structure with a clock, imported from Edinburgh, as a main feature. The red walls are the same colour as they were in the 1800's, having been carefully matched to scrapings of the original paint.

On the ground floor is a tidal gauge mechanism which was used to check the level of the tide for ships entering or leaving the docks. On the second floor there is a decorative mirror room which allowed the captain to view of harbour activities.

The tower was a focal point in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront's urban renewal, since when it has become South Africa’s most-visited destination.
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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.

The Lutheran Church, Strand Street, Cape Town

2/2/2020

The Lutheran Church in Strand Street in Cape Town is the oldest church building in South Africa, dating back to 1792. It was declared a National Monument in 1949. It is one of a unique group of eighteenth century buildings, the others being Martin Melck House and Sexton's House. These buildings are of particular historical importance as they symbolise the long drawn-out struggle of the Lutherans for the right to practice their religion.

When the Dutch first settled at the Cape in 1652, the Dutch East India Company limited the colonist's freedom of worship to the Dutch Reformed faith. However, for many years Lutheran worship was held in a hall, erected by a wealthy merchant, Martin Melck. The building was officially described as a warehouse. However, although the colonial administrators were aware of the actual use of the building, they chose to turn a blind eye.

In 1776 the hall was transferred to the congregation by Martin Melck. It already contained an organ, a communion chalice and a lectern in the form of a swan with outstretched wings: the symbol of Lutheranism. Another swan was proudly displayed above the entrance.

In 1779, following a number of petitions from German, Danish and Scandinavian officials in the Cape, the Company relented and decided to grant the Lutherans the right to form their own church. In the following year, Andreas Kolver of Rotterdam became the first Pastor. During the next four years considerable improvements were made to the hall, but it was mainly during the years 1787 to 1792 that the building was transformed and beautified. This was done by the leading Cape sculptor of the time, Anton Anreith. He designed the front elevation, but his main contribution was the decoration of the interior by his excellent wood carvings.

In 1818 the church had to be rebuilt to a considerable extent because of the poor condition of the walls and the roof. At this time a spire was built. There have been few alterations to the church since. The spire with its belfry rises almost from street level, while the original old railings offer brave resistance to the encroachment of the city. The same slate path which so many churchgoers have used over the years still leads from the gate to the paved entrance porch. Inside, the sense of devotion is enhanced by Anreith's incomparable pulpit, the historic old pews, the lovely copper basins and font. Here the Church Archives and the valuable communion plate are also preserved.

For more images of Early Cape Town, take a look in the gallery.
All works are available as high quality prints on non-archival paper or on stretched canvas.

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