I love Icons. Not just for their religious representation, but the whole naivety of the image, and how the artist has translated his interpretation of something sacred to him onto a flat surface. I was first introduced to them as a 17 year old venturing into the British Museum for the first time. Coming from South Africa…
Author: artbyeileen
I am a South African born artist, who has lived in 5 different countries in the last 20 years. I returned to South Africa in 2016 and I am now living in St Lucia, a small tropical village on the shores of the Indian Ocean. My rather unusual life experiences and travels have influenced my style and choice of subject matter. The rich desert colours, the vibrancy of the tropical flowers, all my paintings communicate my connection to the land and nature. Flowers are my main subject and I am inspired by layerings of colour, be it bright and ebullient, or understated and muted. Colour can evoke so many different responses in someone and my paintings speak to their viewer through their movement, colour and texture. Painting is my way of sharing the pleasure I derive from the beauty that surrounds me in nature and especially the flowers I so loves to paint. An ability to communicate all of this through granular sculptural textures, three dimensional application of paint and striking use of colour makes my art work bold and engaging.
Still life – flowers in a teacup
This still life was a very quick and simple exercise in combining the texture of a palette knife with the smoother more even texture of a brush. Flowers in a teacup Acrylic on canvas panel 20 X 25 cm The petals of the flowers naturally lend themselves to the thick, impasto application with a palette…
Fishy colour shapers
Exploring my local art store I discovered something called a colour shaper. I had no idea what it was or how it should be applied and the lady in the art store wasn’t much help either. I had just recently been asked to paint a bright colourful fish in thick paint for someone’s bathroom and…
Still life – reflections in mahogony
This is the last painting in the series of a course Phil gave me for Christmas in 2013. I know, I know, more than a year ago, but I have been so busy with all my other art and giving in to urges to paint all sorts of other exciting things that I put this…
An Iconic icon moment!
I have always loved Russian Icons, and since the day I saw them hanging in a friends home they became an obsession. One of those obsessions you keep with you because you are not sure how you are going to get your hands on one unless you paint it yourself. Painting something yourself isn’t always the…
Exploring landscape techniques
I have spent the last 10 odd years doing my organic landscapes influenced by my desert surrounds. Recently I have tried exploring other types of landscapes. I don’t often get the time to just paint as so much of my time is spent doing commissions, but every now and again I like to do something…
A review on the documentary “Tim’s Vermeer”
A couple of days ago I was told to watch a movie called, “Tim’s Vermeer”. I wasn’t sure I wanted to, some myths are not meant to be solved, but at the same time the concept of what Tim Jenison was proposing intrigued me. At the end of the day Vermeer was a master, whether…
Another portrait
When I look at my first ever portrait and my most recent of the same subject I have come a long way. The choice of paper for the first sketch was very coarse sketch book paper because it was all very experimental. The coarseness of the paper tends to catch a lot of the graphite of the softer…
Drawing hair
When I start a portrait I spend a lot of time identifying a photograph that will make the best portrait, studying it and understanding the balance between the light and dark contrasts (which will help create the 3D shape) and positive and negative shapes and planes. Ideally it is better to work from a few…
Tips for selecting a photograph for a portrait study
Since starting to draw portraits good source photographs are sometimes a challenge. Usually I get the client to come here and my daughter takes the photographs, or we go there. With internet orders this kind of service is not always available, especially if you live far away. So here are some pointers to consider when…
Blue Hibiscus
A bit of artistic license has been used in this painting as the instructions were very specific. It had to be a hibiscus, and it had to be blue. I certainly don’t have a blue hibiscus growing in my garden, and to be honest I am not even sure if there is such a cultivar….
Another Strelitzia
I love the variety of my work. I never have a chance to get bored with subject matter as there is always something different I am asked to create, and another mile long list of inspirational ideas and plans I still want to try out! My love of flowers continues to flourish! Here is my…
