Madiba (Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa) Print

Johannesburg School Of Art | Michaelis School Of Art | Ruth Prowse Art School Cape Town. Maeve studied under Christian Prosser (graduate London School Of Art), who subsequently became her mentor and friend. Christian inspired her to paint from her gut and intuition, taught her how to love and value the magic and power of colour. One of those important moments was an exercise of 400 shades of green. He was the first person who made her aware that it was more important for her to "get inside", rather than feeding off what other people said or told her to do. Maeve's most recent quest was the painting of Tata Madiba. Two and a half months ago I was commissioned to paint Tata Madiba. My brief was it must be 1 x 1 meter, and "˜we want to feel his vibe'. This was surely one of the biggest challenges I have had as an artist, because I did not train as a portrait painter. It was surely also one of the most incredible journeys I have ever had, and it took over two and a half months to complete, and the medium I used was oil. On completion I made the appointment for the final handing over, but twice the arrangement was cancelled and over the next three weeks we had to reschedule. Life is weird and wonderful, because finally, when we arrived at the agreed date which was the 5th of December, I handed the painting of Madiba over at 18.30 that evening. Literally a few hours later I heard the sad news that Tata Madiba had passed away. What an honour for me and great privilege to experience this journey with Tata, every day I would greet him in the morning when I went into my studio (which is, where I live in Vermont) and we would talk all day long as I went through the process of trying to capture the beauty of this wonderful soul. This incredible and magical experience I know I will never have again. And the vibe of Tata is on the walls of my studio forever.