place known as Steynsdorp. The old farm house was very humble and we used oil lamps and candles at night. I was a little boy and sometimes spend a week or two visiting there. A great impression was made
and I still love and appreciate rural areas with their rustic and simple ways.
Not so long ago I visited the villages of Suurbraak and De Rust. The rustic charm of the old cottages and small humble houses inspired me to paint them. I felt that I had to add figures in some of them, mainly children to tell a story. For example the two little girls visiting their grandmother on the old farm. COVID19 had forced us to stand still and think. It has made us value life and freedom more, to appreciate the simple pleasures of life more. I find potential inspiration and material in everyday situations. The subject matter doesn’t have to be grand or idyllic, quite the opposite. I can’t help but to observe the abstract shapes and exciting contrasts created by the sunlit and shadow areas of old buildings and walls, an old factory, a street scene, farm-lands, etc. These are the kind of visual statements that inspire me to capture them on canvas. The central theme of my paintings has something to do with mood, light and colour. I try and create a particular atmosphere and sense of time. By reducing unnecessary detail I focus the attention on the shapes and juxtaposition of colour”.
PROFILE
1979-1981 Studied at the Johannesburg School of Art gaining a National Diploma in Art and Design
1982-1990 Employed by the Medical University of Southern Africa as graphic artist and medical illustrator
1992 Started painting seriously on a daily basis
1995 Successful full time artist
EXHIBITIONS
1988-2020 A total of 45 solo exhibitions at top galleries in Johannesburg,
Pretoria, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Cheltenham UK
1999 Three-man exhibition at the Gatehouse Gallery, Glasgow
1991-2014 Numerous group exhibitions in South Africa, London, Cheltenham,
Glasgow, Jersey, Galway, Armagh (N. Ireland)
Montreal, Miami and at the Broadway Gallery, New York
REFERENCES
ART FAIRS INTERNATIONAL VOL 19 SUMMER 2012 pg. 25
PRETORIA Artist Impressions 1857-2001 by Eric Bolsman
THE ARTISTS OF THE WATERBERG by Sas Kloppers
AWARDS
First, second and third place in the American Art Awards 2014
In the category: HUMAN IMPRESSIONISM
First place tie in 2019 in the category: HUMAN IMPRESSIONISM
First place in 2020 in the category: STILL LIFE (interior)
Two second place tie awards in the category: HUMAN IMPRESSIONISM
OTHER ARWORKS FOR SALE:
61 x 76 cm. Oil on blocked canvas.
R29500