Great New Artist: Ref 3 Shabana Vashi

       

It is always immeasurably pleasing to meet a person who has a clear vision and who is never scared to use imagination, technique and color, all in abundance, because this is what transforms an ordinary painter into an extremely great artist! 

“The colours in my art reflects my mood when I am painting”

Hi Shabana, nice to meet you! Where did you grow up?

I was born 43 years ago in the city of Vadodara in Gujarat, India as the eldest of three siblings. Gujarat is the most western state of India. Its coastline is 1,600 km long and the state has a population of 60,4 million. Vadodara is a good city to live in as it serves the best in education and food and also has respectable people. The city also has rich heritage of the ancient Maratha Emperors.

I graduated with bachelor degree in Physics at the Maharaja Sayajirao University that was originally established as a college in 1881 already and it has one of the oldest Physics departments in India.

In 1997, after I completed my studies, my family joined my dad who was in South Africa.

I am married now and has two daughters as well as a son. My girls love doing artwork like sketch, fabric paint, watercolour and crafts at school, but my son is not interested in arts.

Were you always an artist?

I am a former Maths and Science high school educator but I am now a housewife and entrepreneur (Supervisor for Forever Living Products).

What is your art training background?

I am a self-taught artist. I did some artwork in high-school as a hobby and only took it up once more in October 2019 after I watched lots of YouTube tutorials that inspired me to start painting again. I am now planning to become full-time artist.

What is the best thing in being an artist?

I love to create something out of nothing and find that I can express myself through my paintings and its colours. The colours in my art reflects my mood when I am painting. When I start a painting, I sometimes get so inspired that I paint fast and find it difficult to stop. If time permits, I need a maximum of a week to finishing such a painting.

I also love when family and friends appreciate what I do and when my paintings become part of someone's life and home!

                   

What inspires you to create art?

Nature inspires me to create. I love beautiful landscapes, sunsets, full moons and seascapes. I do mostly use photo references and when I come upon such scenes, I get excited and cannot wait to capture the scene in paint and to express the feeling and emotion of the moment. Actually, I don't know when to stop working on my painting. I keep working on it till my kids tell me to stop! They are my biggest critics! I see satisfaction with my work as success - I don't measure success in monetary terms.

Who is your favourite artist?

Duong Tieng from Vietnam. I love the landscapes and stunning use of colour and it inspires me to establish my own niche and style of painting.

Are you doing commissions?

Haven't started with commission work yet, but have got some offers to do Islamic art calligraphy.

Which mediums gives you the most joy and what else are you doing?

Acrylic is my favourite, but I have also done contemporary artwork using a palette knife, brushes, aluminium foil, cardboard, cling wrap, etc. I have also experimented with balloon smash, chain pull, string pull and pouring art and even used shaving foam to make a painting!

“This video is of “Pink Explosion” (acrylic on canvas, 
400x400 mm). It's a combination of smooth lines and 
texture in the abstract art style and gave me immense pleasure in creating it.”

Do you do any research on art?

Before starting my painting, I do research on things like reflection of light, shadows, depth of paintings and layering.

I also study Islamic art and learn calligraphy.

How important are titles to your artworks?

Titles are very important as it tell more of the passion and emotions when the painting was created. For me sometimes it's poetic and sometimes it's just a plain few words! Occasionally I look up to my family and friends to give my paintings a suitable title.

           

Which of your paintings is your favourite one?

All are favourites, making it difficult to choose, but I think the recent one “Sunset over the Lake” is my best work so far.

What is the hardest part of creating a work of art?

To get started is the hardest part of creating a work of art. I don't have a full day to create, maybe a few hours a day. City life is more chaotic than country life and it is harder to find time to create more. I paint after finishing my chores and putting the kids to sleep - I have a hyperactive 5-year-old!

I don't have a dedicated workplace but I am planning to renovate a corner of my bedroom to make a studio for my work.

How do you market your art?

Online marketing and social media are the best form of marketing these days. It however still takes years to establish yourself and make a brand name for your artwork.

To me it is a very emotional process to sell my artwork personally.

Where can prospective buyers currently see your work?

Currently my artwork is published online only. I have my digital catalogue on my Etsy store “Art by Shabana” and I also am a member of SA Art Explosion.

I haven't taken part in any exhibition yet but would like to in future.

In your personal view, what role does the artist have in society?

Very important! They make the world more emphatic and loveable.

What’s the favourite part of your art?

 To exhibit my paintings and show them to the world

                                                                       

What would you do different if you had the opportunity?

If I could go back in time, I would start as a full-time artist and studied fine arts instead of sciences at University.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Practice, practice and practice. Keep painting! Practice makes perfect.

Regards

Shabana

Lets Talk Art: Ref 3 Art or Ornament? 23 May 2020

Art or Ornament?

The other day I was astonished by a statement by one of my friends who, after his retirement as lawyer, became a full-time fine artist creating brilliant acrylic paintings. You have actually already met him as "Philistine" in our very first Let's Talk Art article.Well, this troublesome remark by my friend was sparked by the following incident. I have namely emailed him some pictures of amazing art pottery made by another very gifted friend of mine. The lawyer’s wife immediately fell in love with one of the pottery masterpieces and I, in my true nature as serious advocate of art sales, then swiftly took up the opportunity to suggest that the lawyer acquire the piece. To my horror, this fellow remarked that his spouse has plenty of “ornaments” already. Of course, he was just making fun at me. He has always been very articulate and true to his profession thoroughly recognize the significance of expressive terms in a court of law. Therefore, when this well-spoken law-man presented to “court” this true piece of art as just another specimen of a variety of decorative objects, it forced the “jury” to question their frame of reference and to reconsider their longstanding beliefs. It left the bench with the aenigma that all ornaments in the general sense of the word cannot easily be defined as art but that ALL art may well be classified as ornamental.

Still in awe, I then countered another friend of mine. This serious artist likewise has the gift of the gap and a way with words, spoken as well as written and she is fiery by nature. You know me, I like to stir…… As expected, this lady totally lost it when I suggested that she assist me in exploring the possibility that art may only be decorating our homes.

This was her response.

There is a vast difference between decorative and academic art. In previous centuries, original art were honored items in households and homes were never jam-packed with wooden crosses, baskets or welded geckos. Art was admired, original items that could only be afforded by stink-wealthy folks. The exception was less well-off art lovers that saved money and made down payments on original assignments for the reason that they simply could not live without it. I tend to have more admiration for the latter, because it is an indication that the buyer recognized the artist's soul in that workpiece.

Decorative items, on the other hand, is a fairly new trend. The stuff are usually the product of crafts and mass production and unfortunately also include replicas, prints and copies of real artwork. This commercially driven industry made it affordable for people to embellish their homes, floor to ceiling, with items very often reflecting the brand MADE IN CHINA. Décor fads and whims are sheepishly trailed by people with money and whose knowledge of art is diminutive. Decorative items can thus easily end up on the garbage heap amongst other rubbish, because people soon get tired of it, or it goes out of fashion and they then seek another trend or decor tendency to waste money on.

One tiny step up from the above, there is furthermore undeniably a trend of so-called artists, who in sausage-machine-style, one after the other, turn out paintings of flowerpots, bicycles or scrubbing megapode hens under a washing line. Emotion and thoughtful topics and abstraction play no role in the childlike version of topics which the masses adore. Ignorant buyers will then pay astronomical amounts for an “original” piece signed by an artist with a household name, only a) because the neighbor and everyone else owns one b) the item is decorative and c) the buyer look at it and they "understand" the subject. These “artists” are especially successful when they have a marketing strategy that attracts particularly feminine "groupies". "Art" then becomes a ridiculous method to catch the herd animal. These are the types of artists that make art banal and insignificant. Like DEFY, it becomes public ownership.

Yes, nowadays "kitsch" is high fashion, but can one really compare a Fabergé egg to an ostrich egg featuring a painted image of an ostrich or put a Lalique glassware item next to a Consol glass item? So, by the way, I also despise poor art being mounted in most expensive frames that are worth ten times the artwork. Another thing - true art is not a style or subject which repeats itself on every tomdickanharry’s walls and therefore mass-produced copies and prints can easily degenerate true art into a Tretchikoff-like decorative item. 

True art, on the other hand, is a reflection of the soul. It is original work created by man's hand, inspired by emotion and passion. This process involves visions, color, detail, texture and even odor. Influences and several aspects and facets of an artist's life journey and their emotional life space at the time of the creation are notable in the outcome. It then takes a real fine artist, a serious art collector or an art expert to recognize the subtle nuances of genuine art, to interpret the technique, subject and soul meaning thereof and to occasionally make their own observations. If this can be done, only then can we call it real art.

.

People who buy real art are in two distinctive categories - some buy to make an investment; others acquire artwork for the intrinsic value thereof. I personally believe a lover of fine art will always have an original piece, even if it is very small, has been made by an unknown artist or has no sales value at all.  Yes, and it is sadly true, many real fine artists with excellent training and sometimes genial talent are never recognized. Luckily true artists are not dependent on approval of others, neither is money the driving force behind the creation of real art. Most excellent artists can only make a reasonable living as only a very small number of them get a lucky break and become famous. But this never kills the inspiration to create.

Therefore, it all depends on taste, culture, environment, training and viewpoint, whether you see a real artwork as a decorative item or as an ornament.

What I referred to above is an based on 45 years of being a professional artist

Regards

Dorothy Laguerenne Wannenburgh Mathews

My notes:

1.    How do you describe ornaments? (Make your pick…)
Here are some adjectives for ornaments: noncommittal and ostentatious (showy), wonderfully beautiful and complex, single meretricious, fragile native, exterior and adventitious, false or unseasonable, fragile and priceless, deformed but indispensable, gaudy and technical, flexible, circular, slender and charming, chief and ...https://describingwords.io/for/ornaments

2.   I am still not sure if a fine piece of art may really fall into the classification of "ornament"….

Ps. You can view Dorothy’s art on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/dorothylaguerennewannenburgh.mathews

https://www.facebook.com/dorothylaguerenne.wannenburghmathews.9

Kind regards

Steph

Great New Artist: Ref 2 Heide-Marie Meier

Heide-Marie Meier: “If art could be that what I wish it to be”

“The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive” Pearl S. Buck

Gigantic Canvas, Miniature Frame, Soulful Art

When I meet a true, sensitive, passionate, artistic soul like Heide-Marie Meier, the actual meaning of the following definition, which I once stumbled upon somewhere, come to mind: 

"Artistic sensitivity can be defined as the personal predisposition towards artistic beauty. It is the artist’s main motivation and engine, with the help of which they can get a better perception of reality than others. The artist can sense each incident they go through in a special, personal way, while they also take part in the day to day life of themselves and of other people. What they may add, due to their artistic sensitivity, are the frank expression of their emotions and enthusiasm, or the fruit of their imagination.”

Well said, by whoever, as if they knew Heide-Marie on a personal level and we can truly say that her art is not alone soulful, but also bigger than herself and taller than anyone else I know! At 52 she stands a mere (if I may guess) 1,5m in her socks. That is after we subtract the height of (a) the table as well as (b) the chair on the table, (c) the crate on the chair and (d) the pile of magazines upon which she stands to apply paint to one of her HUGE canvasses. Of course there are some mishaps, what are you thinking? Accidents happen and she is not a mechanical engineer, you know? But these misfortunes are absolutely limited to things and events off the canvas, if you understand what I mean. If you don’t – just look at the end results. 

Heide-Marie next to a completed massive painting

But who IS she really?

Heide-Marie was born in Keetmanshoop, Namibia, grew up in Windhoek, left Namibia to study at TUKS - BLC Law (Bachelor of Civil Law), but she did not like it at all. She however met her husband there and got married in 1992. The pair then moved back to Namibia to work there and three years later they relocated to South Africa “as I revered the tremendous amount of rain that we get in relation to Namibia”.

Where and what did she study?

Heide-Marie had quite a few jobs before she started to study jewellery design and manufacturing in 1997 at the Technikon Pretoria. She was at that stage older than the other students and took her studies very seriously, but still enjoyed the arts campus tremendously. It was a wonderful creative world for artists with plenty of fields to study and express their creativity.

 While busy with her higher diploma she was also lecturing jewellery design at the Technicon of Johannesburg as well as taught jewellery manufacturing at the Pretoria Technicon! During her higher diploma studies, she fell pregnant and her son was born in 1999. She then studies towards her master’s degree in Jewellery design, but was informed by the dean at the Technicon that she couldn`t be guaranteed of a job, even if she finished her master’s degree. Therefor she decided to rather spend the time and money to start her own business.

Heide-Marie’s Business Career

She opened her first jewellery business on the first floor of a “bad centre” in November 2001. “After 4 months I appointed my first employee, Adri Raubenheimer who until today is still working for me”. After 18 months she moved her business to Mall@Reds in Centurion in 2003 when the centre opened for the first time. She has been there since.

Her fine art career has always only been a hobby but in 2016 she got interested in tattoos and her passionate soul immediately fell in love with them. She went for a course and “started to practise really hard at tattooing - on pig skin!” She also did a course in permanent make-up and after that medical reconstructive tattooing. Six months later, in November 2016, she opened Skin Jazz Tattoo Studio at Mall@Reds in Centurion. She loved tattooing and being a true artist, she put a lot of effort into the design process before she did the actual tattoos. She also did permanent make up and later started with medical piercings. “As, by nature, I am unable to hurt people and we perfected the use of numbing during the tattooing and piercing processes. This gave us an edge as other tattoo shops did not offer that”.

The tattoo “factory” grew at a tremendous rate and she was fulltime in the shop after she sold the jewellery shop. But in 2017, she was shocked when she realized that the jewellery shop was going down. She took the business back February 2017 with a tremendous amount of debt and in 2018 she sold the tattoo shop to Carol van der Westhuizen that was working with her and mostly ran it since she started it.

Heide-Marie was back full time in the Jewellery shop, “but my heart was not into it”. I do not like the harsh business environment as it is “not suited for any artistic, passionate person”. She experienced it as unforgivingly cruel and thankless. “It was at this point that I started to flee from reality to the sanctuary of my art. I would become so involved with my painting that I lost touch with the outside world. I became obsessed with the meaning of the paintings and surrealism. Many of my paintings are directly influenced by things that were part of my life”. 

“Point of no Return” is a clear indication of where I have been, looking down the dark abyss with no options open. If it was not for someone calling my name, drawing my attention away from the darkness of the emptiness in front of me, and catching me before I fall, it would have been too late.” (Heide-Marie)

 “Most of the art I created during 2018 and 2019 is art with clear indications of my deep inner turmoil that was directly linked to the jewelry business and the damage done to it by the former owner as well as by my own neglect in a desperate hope to get away from the business world in which I do not belong, but have no choice other than to bear it, because of the tremendous financial burden.” 

“Endless” (2mx1m)	“End of music, Start of War” (2mx1,5m)

“The emotions I experienced are expressed in “The Darkest Recesses of Our Souls”. I am certain that I am not the only one experiencing turmoil, but I am one that have the ability to turn them into art. Therefore, as long as they exist, they will be the picture of my soul.” (Heide-Marie)  “Artists look more inward than outward: “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” - Michelangelo. They go deep within themselves and pull out a song, poem, article, product, etc… because it’s inside them and they feel the NEED to make it real even if it risks them becoming a starving artist.” (Someone else)

Heide-Marie’s view of corporate affairs reminded me of someone mentioning that artists pursue beauty for the sake of beauty itself whereas business people only pursue beauty to build a business and nothing else. 

“An artistic personality type appreciates beauty unstructured activities and variety. They enjoy interesting and unusual people sights textures and sounds. They prefer to work in unstructured situations and use their creativity and imagination.”

That brings us to her Gallery…

“Artists are acutely sensitive to the ambient moods, sounds, pictures, people and events in their lives. They may resonate to their surroundings at an unconscious and deep emotional level”.

Heide-Marie’s sensitive nature, her love of art, her love of special people may be the reason for Heide-Marie to realize the dire requirement that new artists have to share and sell their art and she started the Mall@Reds Art Gallery, sponsoring it from her own pocket. I was once again, from the onset, a huge success. She organised and supported artists with positive comments and praise whenever deserved. Everyone learned to love and admire her. Within a few months there were more than 50 amateur artists exhibiting exceptional artwork there – until Covid19 struck and the doors had to be closed until further notice.

Immense growth

All brilliant artists sometimes need to stand back re-focus. Sometimes this re-focusing is the result of a conscious decision, sometimes forced by circumstances, but the outcome is always total self-exploration and reformulation with a glorious effect on output. The Heide-Marie experience was no different.

“During the first few months of 2020, I have lost my sense of understanding art and what is the point of art is if it has no meaning. What is the rationale? If art does not tell the stories of emotions, or conjures up emotions, why do we create? If our lives have meaning, then art has to have meaning, or reason for being? If our existence has no meaning or there is no point in our existence, yes, then art does not need to have a reason or meaning. But I seem to have been left out and ignorant on this. I am uncertain whether I am the only one asking these questions or am I the only one that do not have the answers? It is also clear from my art that I am in the dark on where am I going, where do I come from and why at all do we bother? My art shows exactly how uncertain and in emotional flux I am on the aspect of art, where to go, what to create and what is the point of it all……” 

Untitled	Untitled
“These two paintings have been created in two days, and they have only two things in common – one, I have created them and two, they have no meaning whatsoever….”

It is evident that during this period Heide-Marie really started exploring. She used new techniques and materials with breath-taking effect. I remembered opening the Gallery at Mall@Reds WhatsApp group page one day and there it was – extraordinary piece that made me rush to the gallery - the first thing I did was to ask where it was. It was truly amazing. 

“Wild oceans” (800mm x 400mm. Mixed Media)

 And then the rest followed, piece by piece… (like in the song).... 

“Kintsugi Eyeball”	“Kintsugi Mare”

“Contract Jog”	“Kintsugi Spirits”

“Are We Blind?” (500x1000mm)	“Container City” (400x800mm)	“Endless Possibility”

 Currently – a short pause…….

“For the time being, I do not create art. I feel that reality, and that what I thought it was, is not the same. We can only try, but reality will never live up to our expectations. We try to be fair as life will never be, try to be humane and kind as reality will fail to be. The only way of protecting ourselves is to live in a land of make-believe as in reality the artistic child will wither and die.”

We all know, where there is emotion, there is passion, and passion lights the fire for the creating of new art. I cannot wait for the next phase…..

Regards

Steph