ABOUT ME

Artist Statement

I am a Cape Town–based portrait painter whose work explores psychological presence, vulnerability, and the emotional interior of my sitters. Working primarily in oil and acrylic, I employ heightened light, distortion, and often unnaturalistic colour to intensify atmosphere and deepen narrative tension within the painted surface.

I paint both directly from life and from photographic studies I compose myself. My process is intuitive and tactile, allowing the materiality of paint to remain visible and active in the work. Surface, gesture, and chromatic disruption are used not as embellishment, but as structural elements that reveal the sitter’s inner world.

Since 2010, I have worked as a full-time professional artist, concentrating predominantly on portraiture. My practice is rooted in sustained observation and long engagement with the human subject. Rather than seeking likeness alone, I aim to evoke psychological resonance — the quiet tension between exterior appearance and interior life.

I have undertaken multiple residencies at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (1996, 2012, 2025) and have exhibited widely in South Africa and internationally.

My work is held in private collections across South Africa and Europe.