About

Beyond the Canvas

Every painting starts with seeing. It’s a magical moment when I notice something beautiful. A body moving, a landscape shifting, a shaft of light, a line, a shape, a colour. I’m stopped in my tracks. It transports me. I want to laugh out aloud. I want to share that feeling. The object or scene that I have noticed becomes etched in my mind.

It then finds its way through my arms, to my hands, to my colour choices, and the way I apply the marks. It translates from a sense to an image. I start by capturing some lines and scribbles in my sketchbook.

Back in the studio I try to re-imagine the moment using my senses: the sun or cold on my skin, the sounds in my ears, my shoes in the earth and my hands finding form on the page. This process feels quite visceral and is largely without words. When it goes well, I am smiling inside.

As I start to paint I have no fixed plan. I paint intuitively until it feels like I have captured something of what I first noticed. The process can be messy but I love the traces of these imperfections as they echo who I am and the journey I am on. My flaws and mistakes shape me, they are part of my story.

I am currently using mixed media because it suits my exploration of the subject as I try and describe it to the viewer. I sell my work from my studio in Cape Town, South Africa, as well as online through my website, Instagram and Facebook. It can also be found at YOU&I Gallery in Cape Town.

My Work

Art washes away from the soul

the dust of everyday life.

Pablo Picasso