Way back when...

It was 1994..the first MCQP.,"The Locker Room Project". We sewed for days! Silver capes and 1920's swimming costumes and floral caps and wigs and shoes, and we drank champagne and listened to Mazzy Star and Moby and Faithless and the Andrews sisters. And laughed. We laughed it seemed all the time, and the flat above the 7/11 where we lived on Kloofnek road swirled with people we knew and didnt know and loved all and everyone. and there was a sparkle everywhich way about our 20 something year old heads. We wrote poetry and photographed eachother in costumes of wonder and painted icons on the balcony in the Polaroid summer sun and fell in love in the winter time , stealing kisses in stolen dawns, and drank rose liqueur with breakfast and ate pancakes at midnight and danced on the beaches
&&&...
I laugh still

Lucent - A new Exhibition

                                                                    lu·cent  (lo̅o̅′sənt)
                                                adj.
                                                   1. Giving off light; luminous.
                                                   2. Translucent; clear.
         [Latin lūcēns, lūcent-, present participle of lūcēre, to shine; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.]
                                                    lu′cen·cy n.
                                                    lu′cent·ly adv.

 

I met Francois Irvine on Valentines day 1986. It was our birthday, both of us, and so became also, the birthday of a brilliant, wonderful, astounding friendship.We were both doing a Fine Art Diploma at Durban Technicon in Kwa Zulu Natal, Francois majoring in printmaking, and I in painting.

Over the years we have remained brilliant friends and have shared many journeys.

Our most recent journey was creating work for our joint show "LUCENT". The title seemed apt for 2 reasons. The first because it speaks of luminocity, and that seems to be a great description of the relationship between us, and the second being that we both share a love of the effect and influence of light within and apon structure and form, and so in effect, our works are exploration of such.

Unfortunately, Francois broke his hand during the process of creating his work for the exhibition, and so will not be showing a complete body of work, but will have 3 works on show, and will exhibit the complete series later in the year.

Below are the works that I have on show along with sizes and mediums. 

The Exhibition is taking place at Art in the Yard in Franschoek and opens on Saturday. The Literary Festival also takes place in Franschoek next week, so if you are in the area, please pop in!

 

Title: Lowveld Storm

Size: 120x180cm

Medium: Oil on gold leaf on canvas

 

Title: Into the Quiet

Size: 1.78cm diameter

Medium: Oil on silver leaf on board

 

Title: Etch 1

Size: 160x180cm

Medium: Oil on Gold leaf on canvas

 

Title: Etch 2

Size: 160x180cm

Medium: Oil on gold and silver leaf on canvas

 

Title: Evening

Size: 80x80cm

Medium: Oil on silver leaf on canvas

 

Title: Dawn

Size: 80x80cm

Medium: Oil on gold leaf on canvas

 

Title: Etch 5

Size: 104cm diameter

Medium: Oil on silver and gold leaf on board

 

Title: Kaapsehoop

Size: 137cm diameter

Medium: Oil on silver leaf on board

 

Title: Sea Study

Size: 130x160cm

Medium: Oil on silver leaf on canvas

 

Title: Etch 3

Size: 50x50cm

Medium: Oil on gold leaf on canvas

 

Title: Etch 4

Size: 50x50cm

Medium: Oil on silver leaf on canvas

 

Title: Kaapmaiden

Size: 128cm diameter

Medium: Oil on gold leaf on board

Portrait of Leila, & 12 people I know

In 2010, I painted Leila, purely for the love of painting. People especially..the way the light touches and bounces on and off and every whichway about the skin. The birds were fitting for the astounding person I know Leila to be. The use of symbolism in portraiture is something I have always been drawn to, and have often incorporated it into my work.
I loved doing the painting which measured 2mx2m, and it inspired me to start a series of portraits of "12 People I know", people who have had a profound effect on my life in the past 5 years.

                                                                             Leila

                                                                       Mandy Deacon

                                                                 Barbara Wildenboer

                                                                         Francois Irvine

                                                                       Nick Aldridge

                                                                 

Story

Since first I could hold a pen, I have loved writing. I have loved words and stories and books and prose. I collect dictionaries and poems and quill nibs and ink. For years I owned various typewriters with with wayward keys and stripey ribbons.
drinks coasters and cocktail napkins and whiskey menues and tillslips I filled with words and kept them in boxes which traveled with me unopened through various homes and countries for years and years.
10 years ago, I started to randomly dip into those boxes an use the words in my art.
In 2011 I took part in an exhibition with Francois Irvine and Hoffman Wentzel called Story. I had rolls of handmade paper 2m long which I had bought years before, and for the exhibition I wrote stories and prose with a quill pen onto the paper.
So few people write with ink and pen anymore, which saddens me, as it is such a beautiful, expressive, meditative art form.
The work I did for Story, has sparked the idea of a follow up body of work which I will start work on toward the end of this year.