Woodstock is possibly the most "quintessentially Cape Town" you can get. It is a wonderful mix of the old and the new, the mundane and the exciting, black and white - and just about anything in between. The swish and trendy Lovell Gallery for example, is wedged in between an aircon regas garage and a corner "cafe" on Albert Road. And a bit further down is the fantastic Old Biscuit Mill.
Another scorcher of a day. And sizzling in the hot sun is the new sculpture on the Alma Mater plaza between the Kramer Law Building and the new Student Administration Building on the University of Cape Town's middle campus, where the annual Summer School is in full swing. The artist, Charles Diamond, says that "the dogwatch" is a nautical term for the hours between late afternoon and night, when fading light can play tricks on the eyes. "It's difficult for me to explain the piece, so when people ask me what it is, I usually just say, 'it's about seven and a half tonnes'."
The National Gallery has a most interesting exhibition on at the moment entitled Listening to Distant Thunder: The art of Peter Clarke curated by Philippa Hobbes and Elizabeth Rankin. There is an accompanying book for sale too, but annoying, the shop was closed today as it is every Monday. Clarke is one of Cape Town's most talented artists, and he lives in a terraced house in Ocean View where he and his family were evicted from Simon's Town during the infamous Group Area Act forced removals of the National Government in the 1970s.
The South African Jewish Museum in the Company's Garden, Cape Town is one of our finest museums. We went there to view the temporary exhibition entitled "Zapiro: Jiving with Madiba. Jonathan Shapiro's Mandela" and what a pleasure. With the anniversary of Steve Biko's death in detention on 12 September 1977 three days ago, and in the aftermath of an excellent lecture by Sir Sydney Kentridge (one of the lawyers who represented the Biko family at the subsequent inquest) it was a wonderful way to remember those dark days, yet feel uplifted that there were, and still are, dissenting voices of the calibre of Zapiro in South Africa. This is a great exhibition and everyone should go and see it. In this photo is the original Madiba puppet used for ZA News.
The Irma Stern Museum in Rosebank - close to the University of Cape Town - is one of Cape Town's hidden gems. The museum and art gallery is actually the house where Irma Stern, one of South Africa's great artists, lived and worked. Curated by the University of Cape Town and the Trustees of the Irma Stern Estate, it contains a wealth of information and works of the famous artist, and also has regular temporary exhibitions which are always most interesting. It also has an unexpected, lovely garden to sit and relax and contemplate art in.
A cold and rainy day today, and breakfast with friends who, being the Warden (and wife of the Warden) of Smuts Hall, live in this most gracious of the University of Cape Town's residences. We were given a tour, and were particularly struck by the beautiful stained glass windows in the grand Dining Hall that you can see in the photo; the light just catching the window on the left. Six of the windows are quite old and depict scenes from South Africa's colonial history, but there are a few more modern designs; one of which is by Pippa Skotnes, entitled The wind in //Kabbo's Window. //Kabbo (the back slashes denote clicks when pronouncing the name) was a /Xam Bushman who was interviewed in the nineteenth century by Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd while he was doing time in prison for threatening colonial farmers in the Northern Cape. These diaries and transcriptions are all that remains of the culture and day to day life of the indigenous people of the northern Cape and are the most precious and intriguing documents of our history. 
The other new windows are Ithemba by Zwelethu Mthethwa, The birth of democracy by Lyn Smuts and Afrika phakamisa uphondo iwakho by Ella Lou O’Meara.
The Simon's Town Art Group are having their annual art exhibition in the Simon's Town Public Library. My aunt, Wendy Roselli, who is an internationally acclaimed artist from Zimbabwe has some work on the exhibition. 
She is famous for her baobab trees, but after her move to Cape Town, has concentrated on seagulls and seascapes. Her latest works seem to be moving to still-life studies: teapots, hats, vases of flowers. All fabulous. Wow Wendy, I am so proud of you!
Deep in the pine forests of Constantia Nek (really, only plantations) is the old home of Cape Town's king of kitsch artist, Vladimir Tretchikoff, on the slopes of Table Mountain overlooking Constantia. Today it is an art studio, called Light from Africa and you can buy some fantastic fine art here. (No Tretchikoffs in sight!) Or just browse around on the way back from your hike.
From mid-January to the end of February it is Disa time in the Cape. Watered by the winter rains and the cool, wet Southeaster wind in early summer, these stunning orchids begin to flower in the late summer as the days get hotter. If you visit La Motte wine estate in the Franschhoek valley (an hour out of Cape Town) you are bound to encounter some of these exquisite blooms - like these Disa hybrids in their wine tasting room. The estate purchased a large private collection of disas that was destined for the Japanese horticultural market, but luckily is now still in South Africa. 
There are some disas for sale too - so pop along and buy some wine and roses, er, disas.
Yesterday evening we went to an opening of an art exhibition at In Fin Art - a well-known art gallery and shop in the Chelsea area of Wynberg. In the Window you can see a painting by Zimbabwean artist Wendy Rosselli who now lives and paints in the seaside village of Kommetjie in Cape Town. Well worth a visit!
Under the trees at the Montebello Design Centre in Newlands is the magical mysterious world of Right Mukore, a sculptor from Zimbabwe. Right sells his work, or takes commissions and will even teach you how to sculpt. There are other wonderful shops and studios to browse around, and coffee shops and restaurants to relax in too.
The Old Town House on Greenmarket Square used to be Cape Town's City Hall - way back when it was built in 1755 by the Dutch. It normally houses a collection of Dutch old masters - including Rembrandt - but at the moment there is a special exhibition of "apartheid art" called "Home and Away: Return to the South". Some of it is pretty searing. (Download a catalogue here.) 
This morning is rainy so it would be a good day to take in some art, and when it stops raining, as it always does in Cape Town, it will be time for tea in the courtyard behind this wonderful old building.
The matric art class of Wynberg Girls High School has their art on display at the school today - and it is open to all. I recommend a visit! Here is Clare Rodseth with her work entitled "I am because you are".
The Kirstenbosch Botanical Art Biennale 2010 is on at the moment - and well worth a visit. Apart from being completely free to view, there were some interesting new additions to the usual paintings - like these fabulous wall hangings by artists of the Keiskamma Art Project. Kirstenbosch invited a group of artists from the Keiskamma Art Project to the garden a few months ago, showing them the rare and endangered plants from their part of the world growing in Kirstenbosch. The artists were ispired to create some amazing wall-hangings and tapestres that are now on show - like this cycad above.
Cape Town Time