The Praying Farmer Painting

I grew up on a farm in Marble Hall, Limpopo. I always loved to draw and from a young age I used to design and illustrate my own characters. I was especially inspired by comic book characters and loved how the artists depicted the figures and anatomy. My dad, who also painted from time to time, had a collection of Art books. I used to study them and learned about the old masters. After my school years, I moved to Germiston to finish my studies as an apprentice. In the church I was involved in, I met a lady who was teaching Fine arts at the time. She saw some of my drawings and encouraged me to enrolling for her classes. I enrolled for three years and received a Bachelors of Divinity degree in Fine arts. A few years later I enrolled for a Visual arts course in an advanced training program offered at Umdali Institute. I have since being involved with Umdali Institute, teaching Fine arts as a subject for 1st year and 2nd year students on a part time bases. ​ I love to paint conceptual realism. I'm inspired by different kinds of people and figures. When I paint, I look for ways to compose my subjects as to tell a story or give meaning to every painting. I would like people to be able to relate with what I am painting in some way. Therefore the concept and not just the technique, becomes important in my artwork. My preferred mediums to work in is oil, charcoal and graphite. I have done portrait commissions, murals, still life and wildlife paintings among others. In one of the most recent fine arts competitions held in Johannesburg, the Thami Myele Fine arts awards, my painting " Praying farmer " was chosen among the top 100 entries country wide.