IN REMEMBERANCE OF CELEBRATED ARTIST

25/2/1935-16/07/2010

Luther Marais was born in Port-Elizabeth on 25 February 1935.  His family moved to Porterville during 1939 where his father established a printing business.  Uncle Tienie Marais had his own orchestra and also painted a little, thus, the young Luther was exposed to music and art from an early age.

At the age of four he could the concertina and harmonica and at sic he toured with the orchestra of the University of Stellenbosch.

Luther managed his father’s printing business which he later took over.  He obtained his Master Printer’s Diploma from the Printing Union of Cape Town at the age of seventeen.  At the age of eighteen he formed his own orchestra consisting of five members.  They signed contracts and performed at a variety of venues.  For five years the group broadcasted light South-African music for the SABC and during that time two records featuring his own compositions were released.

His first painting saw the light in 1956.  He moved to Pretoria in 1974 where he commenced painting professionally.  He never studied art formally, as it poured out of him naturally.  Mr Swannie Swanepoel, owner of the Swanepoel chain of Galleries, immediately saw his potential and bought everything he painted.

Luther’s first one-man-exhibition was held in Vredendal in the Cape Province.  Some of the best known galleries in the country exhibit his work as part of their combined exhibitions, and numerous paintings can be found in embassies and private collections throughout South-Africa and the world.

His last exhibition was in 2009 at Alice Art Ruimsig

Luther’s love for the Cape countryside, the West coast and its people, the Malay Quarters in the old District Six, the mission and fisherman’s communities as well as Woodstock, Salt River, Elands Bay, Struisbaai etcetera, is mirrored in all his paintings.

At 75 years of age we salute you as a well-known celebrated artist always dedicated to send out only the highest quality work!

His work can be seen at Alice Art Gallery in Ruimsig.  Tel: (011) 958 1392

Or viewed on aliceart.co.za

Karien is a woman who loves life!  Her heart and home are always open to people who needs her most.  Her friends always say that there is something in her that’ll always be child and just like a little girl, she’s always busy with something!  Painting is her passion and something that she only began on a later stage in her life.  Her children were already grown up when she decided to go study art at UNISA.  Painting means more to her than to just paint pretty pictures.  It’s about self discipline and the courage to open up your soul.  The shadows in an artist’s life searches for expression and recognition on the canvas.  The words of Paul Cezanne inspires Karien everyday: “I want to make art where my grandchildren can sit and have breakfast.”  Karien wants to express a message of life and light – something that makes the viewer feel good.  Her faith is very important to her.  The word Parakletos always appears under her name on canvas, which means the Holy Spirit is my Helper, Comforter and Advocate.  Karien and her husband loves to ravel and her charm with European architecture, lead her to the painting of themes such as walls, doors and roads.  She sees a door as a metaphor for a choice.  Al of Karien’s work are rich in colour and texture.  The walls and doors always have an old looking-feeling texture.  In her Free State landscapes and still life with fruits, the brush creates an expressive, colourful, tangible atmosphere. 

Enjoy the company of artist Karien Boonzaaier at Alice Art Gallery, Ruimsig on 19 & 20 June from 9am to 4pm!

Do not miss it!!

Bert van Wyk was born on the 12th of May 1958 in Florida. Even at an early age it was apparent that the youngster had art in his soul, so much so that his father wanted to send him to art school. Like many young men of the time, Bert’s dreams of becoming an artist had to wait. After Matriculating from Florida High school, Bert went on to serve his time in the army and then took up a career with Spoornet for the next 25 years. 12 Years ago he could no longer contain his artistic streak and took up art lessons with well known artist Pieter Millard. Only four years after this Bert van Wyk started painting professionally full time. He started with the usual, flowers and landscapes, but it was only after spending an intensive three hours with his mentor, the great Adriaan Boshoff, learning, getting tips and advice, that his work truly came to fruition. From that moment on he ate, slept and thought only art and the wonderful impressionist style of Adriaan. Over the years his style has matured and grown to world class impressionist quality.  He has become quite a prolific worker, working on between 5 to7 paintings at once and the themes of his paintings are usually from photographs of family and friends, in the preferred medium of oil. Bert and his wife Magda live in Ruimsig in Roodepoort and are parents of two children and grandparents of one.

Join Bert van Wyk, this weekend, 5 & 6 June, 9am to 4pm at Alice Art Ruimsig. 
Discover why his popularity has grown with buyers and investors!
 
How is this for future investment?

Trobec was born in Italy, within the ancient city gates of the renaissance city of Florence on St. Valentine’s day in 1944.  His father ran a food shop and one of the artist’s earliest reminiscences is being scootered around with his mother and sibling on papa’s Lambretta, the four of them on this tiny machine realising a wave and a smile from the Italian police rather than the stern encounters one could easily envisage here.  Is this where he started storing those mental images of Italian seaside villages with deep blue seas, cobbled streets and boats packed to the gills?  “Oh yes,” he replies lost in the reverie of those far bygone days. “I remember them so clearly.  Those seaside towns and the countryside of Tuscany.  Both have formed a strong basis for my art in recent years.  “But how does he recall the detail, the architecture that forms the basis of a balanced work?  Did he take photographs or was it all stored in a retentive memory?   ”Neither,” says Giorgio happily.  “I don’t like to have to clear a memory of those places we visited.  I enjoy a vision, perhaps some small detail and then I use my imagination to tease out the painting.  I am not trying to make a work that is indistinguishable from a photograph.  I want to make paintings that say this work is by Giorgio Trobec.  They are playful, fun and usually everything is very disproportionate in size.

“Don’t you think that these days imaging is more to do with the art of capturing a detail?” Trobec says. 

Perhaps a word that truly describes Trobec’s art is that it is cheerful, it induces in the viewer a feeling of joeie de vivre and this is probably the kernel of his success.  You can’t help but being drawn to paintings that light up your life, that banish dark thoughts, and that often bring a smile.  There is a rare talent behind this achievement and Giorgio Trobec is busy perfecting it.

Come join artist Giorgio Trobec this weekend, 8 & 9 May, 9am to 4 pm and experience art that lightens up your life!!

“I tell you, the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more artistic than to love other people!”
– Vincent van Gogh