Colourful Autumn – Cathy's postcard from South Africa

This colorful autumn postcard I received yesterday on a wonderful early summer day. Cathy wrote that she drew this great little work of art at the May Day public holiday. Cathy has a beautiful handwriting: "We are fully into autumn now & there are so many colours where I walk round the dam - too many to hit on a postcard! ... lots of people walking in the park. The birds are Hadeda Ibises (because of the noise the make) which graze on the lawn every morning ... "

Thank you so much Cathy! Everything on the postcard, on both sides, fits perfectly together including the stamps and the very well characterized silhouettes of ibises.

From a Mail Art Master

I have received my postcard from a mail art master - Albrecht Rissler in Heidelberg, Germany. The scans don't do this wonderful gift justice. 24 x 15 cms right out of Albrecht's sketchbook and packed with beauty on both sides. Can you sense that I am delighted?

Albrecht says 'Willows won't win a beauty competition, but for me they are a pleasure to draw.' Well they are a pleasure to study, over and over again, Albrecht. He went on to say 'These sketches were made near the Rhine River where I love going for a walk.'

The card still has a hint of the hairspray Albrecht apologises for using in order to fix the graphite. :) There is so much for a fan to discover on this card - the fact that the artist used a Tombow Roller Ball pen and Karisma Graphite Aquarelle pencil and a drawing of both, plus a tiny value chart. The stamps are an added bonus - just beautiful.