I am a self-taught painter, sculptor and poet. I have recently moved into the town of Ladybrand and opened a gallery space called hA_dE_dA. Here in South Africa we have a healthy population of Hadeda Ibis, also in urban areas. The Ibis with its loud prehistoric sounding call ‘ha de da!’ reminds me of my little gallery which hopes to make a big noise ‘art art art’ !
I was born in Cape Town to Dutch parents who left South Africa in 1976 when I was five years old. We eventually settled in New Zealand. I returned to SA when I was 19 and have been working as an artist ever since. Based mostly in the Eastern Free State in various places, I have also lived and worked/exhibited in the Netherlands for eight months and in New Zealand for two years.
My painting and all my art making is unorthodox and perhaps you could say, naïve. My work has undergone a steady evolution of styles but can loosely be called "expressionistic." For many years my focus has been on portraiture and human forms, often on mothers and children. I have just gone through an abstract phase and done my first pure abstract paintings.
At the moment a lot of my creative energy is going into a small cob ‘mill’ I am building here in Ladybrand. My two children have also returned to home schooling and I am busy with some writing projects. My second collection of poetry will be published with Modjaji books next year.
Competition history:
2019 Entrant
2017 Entrant