People
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Paintings, Stories and Details
As part of the District Six collection, I finished four paintings that contain people and they are also all part of the District Six Collection. At the time of me publishing them to the website, there were only two additional ones. The one was a birthday present to a friend of mine who is an Elvis fanatic and the other one was of an old Mauritian lady in a market somewhere in Mauritius.
It is therefore obvious that I am not really into people, but once I started with these I really enjoyed doing them and they were all a challenge. I am sure there will be more of them in the future.
Old Lady at the Market
The Story
The photo I used for this painting was taken by Jean Garrett, when they were living in Mauritius and Geoff, her husband an old SAAF colleague and friend was flying for Air Maritius. Jean is an exceptional photographer, and her photographs can be viewed on Instagram @dodoislandgirl.
I asked Jean about the photograph and here is the story: “This old lady was at the market sitting behind one of the tables selling some trinkets. I don’t think she was the one selling the stuff, possibly sitting there because she accompanied maybe her daughter, who was the seller. I noticed her because of her interesting face, she was very quiet, didn’t chat at all, sort of in a world of her own. I had the long lens on the camera, and she didn’t notice me taking her photo. The market was the local market in Mahebourg, which is on a Monday.”
The Details
While on the Easel
11 Dec 2021
11 Dec 2021
11 Dec 2021
12 Dec 2021
14 Dec 2021
21 Dec 2021
21 Dec 2021
22 Dec 2021
Eating Ice Cream with My Father
The Story
A man sits on a low wall outside his home and pats the head of his young son who is eating an ice-cream, District Six, Cape Town in the 1970’s prior to the state orchestrated forced removals to locations further from the city.
It was done based on a black & white photograph of Jansje Wissema, taken in 1970. See some more of her other photos at https://m.facebook.com/greshoff/albums/1063621223799089/?v&ref
The Details
Elderly Woman Knitting
The Story
I painted a series of the people of District 6, through the lense of Jansje Wissema, with the permission of Cape Provincial Institute of Architects.
An elderly woman sits and knits at a table in her home in District Six, Cape Town in the 1970’s prior to the state orchestrated forced removals to locations further from the city. I don’t know if the old woman is the wife of the old man, they don’t say. They may be sitting at the opposite sides of the same table.
The Details
Bearded Man Reading
The Story
I painted a series of the people of District 6, through the lense of Jansje Wissema, with the permission of Cape Provincial Institute of Architects.
A bearded man sits at a table and reads in District Six, Cape Town in the 1970’s prior to the state orchestrated forced removals to locations further from the city. It is not known whether this man is Jewish or Muslim.
https://digitalcollections.lib.uct.ac.za/collection/islandora-18524
The Details
Kaapse Klopse
The Story
I have painted the structures of District 6 based on Jan Greshoff’s photographs. There are not many people present in those. Thought that it is time to see what the people of District 6 look during the 60’s and 70’s. Also using black and white photos, I started with this one taken by Ian Berry in 1960.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZLkUJLqCXD/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
The Details
Conrad meets Elvis on the Stage
The Story
A good friend of mine, Conrad Davies (guy on the left), is an Elvis (guy on the right) fanatic! Conrad turned 50 in May 2020 and I thought a nice present would be to unite them in one arena (canvas).
It was a fun painting