Gerrit Du Raan

I am working mostly in water-soluble oil-paints with my existing supply of oil and alkyd paints occasionally used in the final stages. All work is done on artist quality canvas glued to a hardboard backing.
Inspiration is Southern Africa, mainly the Namib desert and everywhere else the Good Lord causes sunshine and shadow. Subject matter has been collected from Camping trips with a camera over a period of almost 50 years and subsequently filed and referenced on the computer, with all work being done from the computer screen without any distracting bugs and elements.
The original emotional reaction to the particular wonder of Creation never diminishes and remains the main inspiration, even for studio work, which in the end only produces a subjective visual experience open to the individual observer's interpretation. “ I paint what I see and not what others like to see” as Eduard Manet described our experience.
Born in Namibia in 1946 I could not escape the stimulus of mostly raw nature on my doorstep and six years in Johannesburg with the national airline in a technical position did nothing to diminish this passion, resulting in a transfer back to Windhoek Namibia as a Line Station Supervisor at the first opportunity. Apart f...

In 1970 I started a correspondence course with the Press Art School run by Percy V Bradshaw. After about 4 years I started on my personal journey of landscape interpretation in watercolor and oils.
In 1979 I attended classes with Hilda Wasserfall, a local artist in Windhoek for several months before once again returning to my landscapes and the artists who inspired me.
Sargent, Russell Flint, Ken Howard, Richard Schmid with local masters such as Pierneef, Wenning, Gwelo Goodman, Nico Roos, Johannes Blatt and Adolph Jentsch amongst others provided the most of the inspiration with personal visits to the Musee d'Orsay and New York's Metropolitan introducing me to the techniques of the Masters