I am based in Cape Town and divide my time
between painting and working part time as the financial manager for an NGO
which works in impoverished areas of Cape Town.
Most of my work is on canvas using acrylic
paint, occasionally I’ll use a bit of charcoal, pencil, pen, acrylic markers
and oil pastels to create some variation and interest.
Painting has become an essential component of
my life, a way of translating some of my experiences, perceptions and emotions
into a visual commentary. World events,
past experiences, images and thoughts “speak” to me, with the paint and canvas
becoming the storyteller.
Starting a new painting is always exciting
because although I might have an idea of how my thoughts may be translated
visually, it’s never fixed, and the most inspiring part is allowing intuition
into the process. Many of my paintings
have an underpainting and seeing what emerges from the underpainting is
interesting for me because it adds additional layers, literally and
figuratively to the story. I usually
limit my colour palette for each painting to 3 or 4 colours, using those as the
base with tonal variations and mixing adding to the emerging layers
