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I paint mainly figurative work in a representative and somewhat expressive (as opposed to impressionistic) style. I was educated at Rhodes University in South Africa, under the tutelage of Noel Hodnett (who now resides in Vancouver and is represented by the Buschlen Mowatt Gallery). I received a BFA with distinction in painting. My education there was a traditional one, with the emphasis on drawing and working from life. However, the pushing forward of painterly boundaries was also very much encouraged. I still work from this Modernist standpoint and constantly try to allow the painting to lead the way: in other words I use the accidental paint mark as inspiration, thereby allowing new and unexpected changes to happen. In this way I can challenge myself creatively as well as technically. I very much believe in the Modernist spirit and support philosophical movements such as Neomodernism, which is linked to the ideas of ?gnes Heller (born 1929 in Budapest, Hungary). Neomodernism, unlike Remodernism, acknowledges Postmodernist art movements, but, like Re-modernism, does not consider Modernist values outdated. After leaving Rhodes University, I went on to complete an MFA with distinction in both painting and theory at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. My thesis was entitled “Tactility, Illusionism and the Depiction of Flesh in Selected Contemporary Painting”. Focusing on the work of Francis bacon and Lucien Freud, as well as my own, I discussed how painting that gives an illusion of external reality can often induce powerful tactile sensations in the viewer, even though it is primarily a visual art. My hypothesis was that through a particular painting process, during which the artist responds in a bodily way to viewed objects, a certain textural paint mark can be produced. This is true of my own painting process, and, when achieved, makes the difference between a merely clever work and a truly passionate one. I often use myself as a model although not all of the work based on myself I would consider to be self-portraits. I change my features or, rather, do not attempt a likeness of myself in certain paintings that focus on more general things, such as creating a figure in an undefined space, or rendering a certain kind of light or bodily form. Recently I have been concentrating on portraits of other people, particularly that of my young son. However, these are also directed by unplanned or accidental brush strokes and composition. I allow the process of painting to show in the final work by keeping the paint marks visible. This keeps a freshness, narrates a history and focusses on the physical substance of paint that went to into making the image.
Biography: EDUCATION 1997 - 1999 University of the Witwatersrand South Africa Master of Fine Art with distinction 1991 - 1994 Rhodes University South Africa Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art with distinction in Painting GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2006 "JUICE" Winsor Gallery, Vancouver, B.C. 2006 South African Department of Science and Technology National Art Competition 2006 National Art Show "REALISM" Guests Gallery, U.S.A. 2005 EAG Juried competition Abstract EXPOsure Juried Show, Seattle, WA, U.S.A. 100 Nudes National Juried Show, California, U.S.A. 2004 Blackheath Gallery Summer Exhibition, London, UK 2003 Montserrat Gallery (offer of show), New York, U.S.A. 2002 Pleasanton Art League Juried Show, California, U.S.A. 2001 North Kitsap Arts and Crafts Juried Show, Washington, U.S.A. 2000 (Standard Bank National Watercolour Festival) Structures and Scarifications, Gallery on the Square, Johannesburg Bottled at Source, Johannesburg Civic Gallery International Group Exhibition Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg 1999 Babel Tower, Johannesburg Civic Gallery Kempton park/Tembisa Fine Art Competition Exhibition International Group Exhibition Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg 1995 International Group Exhibition Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg 1993 Momentum's Life Art Competition, Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria 1992 - 1994 Mid-Year Juried Art Exhibition, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 1991 - 1994 Year-End Juried Art Exhibition, Rhodes University, Grahamstown SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2000 Exhibition of oil paintings, watercolours and sculptures, The Bill Ainslie Gallery, South Africa 1999 Masters Exhibition, Gertrude Posel Gallery, South Africa 1998 Exhibition of Paintings, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa 1994 Exhibition of Drawings, Grahamstown National Arts Festival, South Africa 1992 Exhibition of Paintings, Grahamstown National Arts Festival, South Africa ACHIEVEMENTS Finalist (2006 23rd annual Artist's Magazine Competition) Finalist (2006 South African Department of Science and Technology National Art Competition) Placed (2006 National Art Show "REALISM" Guests Gallery, U.S.A.) Winning finalist (Abstract EXPOsure Juried Show, Seattle, WA, U.S.A.) Honourable Mention (N. Kitsap Arts & Crafts Juried Show, WA., U.S.A.) Exchange Visitor Programme Award in Arts (C.S.I.R., New York, U.S.A.) Postgraduate Merit Scholarship (University of the Witwatersrand) x 2 Degree of M.A.F.A with distinction (University of the Witwatersrand) Kempton Park/Tembisa Fine Art Award (Johannesburg) Postgraduate Merit Award (University of the Witwatersrand) x 3 Postgraduate Scholarship (merit) (Centre for Scientific Development) Postgraduate Merit Scholarship (offered by Rhodes University) Rowney Prize (Best Fourth-Year Painting Student) (Rhodes University) Half Colours (academic) (Rhodes University) Degree of B.F.A with distinction (Rhodes University) Tuition Scholarship (double first-class pass 1993) (Rhodes University) Best Second-Year Painting Student (Rhodes University) Best First-Year Painting Student (Rhodes University) Best First-Year Student (Rhodes University) Most Promising First-Year Fine Art Student (Rhodes University) Most Outstanding Art Pupil (Matric, Mondeor High School) Outstanding Art Pupil (Standard 9, Mondeor High School) SELECTED CORPORATE & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS Gauteng Legislature, Johannesburg Johannesburg International Airport Ericsson South Africa Rhodes University Alumni Collection, South Africa Numerous private collectors in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Germany and U.S.A. GALLERIES Winsor Gallery, Vancouver B.C.; Blackheath Gallery, London, U.K.; Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg and Cape Town
Country: United Kingdom
E-mail: thomasin_d@hotmail.com
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