My first one-man show being in January 1975, 2025 heralds my 50th anniversary as professional artist.
Born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1951, I soon embarked on my creative journey, encouraged by my mother, the artist Mary Hart. Mesmerized by the large lizards emerging from the bougainvillea surrounds of the verandah abutting my nursery, I longed to forge some alliance with them. Furtively placing paper and crayon at the threshold of their sun-drenched arena, I hoped, in vain, to receive some reciprocal cryptic message. Consequent to this cautionary experience the visitor’s book holds scant sway to this day!.
Solitude being beneficial to the creative process, a less than gregarious nature lends my essentially figurative works a degree of solipsistic remove. Variously described as dreamlike or mystical, this is enhanced by how I execute them, i.e. the paintings. As with that infant back in Nigeria, I paint sprawled on the floor surrounded by the accoutrements of my trade, canvas flat before me. Michelangelo in reverse fashion, the studio becomes my chapel, spiritual music a constant accompaniment.
On relocating to Cape Town at 5, art continued to be my prime passion. After matriculating from Bishops and gaining a diploma in graphic design from the Cape College for Advanced Education I did a stint as set painter for C.A.P.A.B. . I have painted full-time since with over thirty solo exhibitions. Despite almost entirely exhibiting in Cape Town my paintings have found homes around the globe.
Acrylic is my chosen medium, rustic or maritime idioms a prime subject. Regardless, the inherent philosophy that underscores my creativity eclipses whatever content I might favor. Taking my cue from the American artist Ben Shahn, I believe in the work of art being a product of the human spirit, which of it’s nature is celebratory. This necessitates oft-times getting out of one’s own way let alone foregoing whatever drama unfolds on the global stage. A timeless quality pervades much of what I create; the everyday, likewise,is favored rather than specific events.
