Quote

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They are not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

--Jack Kerouac

The landscape

According to the article on Wikipedia:

"Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still form an important part of the work. Sky is almost always included in the view, and weather is often an element of the composition. Detailed landscapes as a distinct subject are not found in all artistic traditions, and develop when there is already a sophisticated tradition of representing other subjects."

I've decided to sometimes deviate a bit from only showing my work on my blog. It has to become somewhat boring to you as viewer. I know I would go insane if I look at only my own work everyday! So I'll share some of my favourite works by other artists, which will anyway give you more insight into what inspires my artwork... While on Wikipedia I spotted this work, which immediately caught my attention:


Hasegawa Tōhaku, Pine Trees, one of a pair of folding screens, Japan, 1593.

I have always loved Pierneef's work, especially the way that he depicts trees:



This also reminds me of Cape Town-based artist and illustrator Cedric Hunter's technique - with an incredible way of handling light, rocks, and achieving atmosphere in his work. I'll try and post an image or two of his work soon.

And I've always admired Ian Marley's work. I've had the privilege to have Ian as a lecturer in my first year of studying at the Vaal University of Technology. A super-talented artist, this is one of his charcoal landscapes:

Playing around digitally

I've got a whole table full of paints, paintbrushes, paper and canvas that I packed out and started to work on this morning. Then after an entire afternoon spent on car stuff, I end up behind the computer and while looking for good landscape photographs, came accross some old misty photos taken on Signal Hill and started playing with them. The result can be seen above.

And below is progress on the landscape that I showed a week or two ago.

At our very feet

I've got some new work up in my gallery on State of the Art. This photograph is one of the prints available for sale, and shows my toes in front of one of my rock circles, made on Sunset Beach, Milnerton, in the Western Cape in 2010.

Voor die Voet
Limited Edition Print
Available on State of the Art

Organic installation at HumanEarth: Conversation

My artist statement for the exhibition:

My art is heavily inspired by nature in some way or another, whether in response to environmental issues and land degradation, or as a tribute and representation of my appreciation for the balance, peace and beauty of the landscape. The artworks “Choking Tree”, “Our Legacy” and “Peinsend oor More” are all works done a year or more ago and can be seen as quite literal reflections on what is happening in our environment. A dead tree - drowned by polluted groundwater and air pollution from factories. A barren landscape with dead trees flanking it. A man worried about the future of our planet, our species, our children and the legacy we are leaving...

“Organic: death or life, or something inbetween” and “Fingers vs. branches” , more recent works, are leaning towards being 'abstract' in the sense that I don't do literal representations or renderings, but rather focus on form, shape and the way that it interacts with things around it, including the viewer – depending on when or which angle you view it from. Playing with organic shapes and the shapes of trees I am allowing the sculptures to almost shape themselves with me only being the facilitating force - very much in the way that dunes are shaped and moved in a desert by the wind. These installations allow for more personal reflection and subjective interpretation in contrast to the more representational works, landscape paintings and drawings.

Lately my focus has once again turned to land art, using naturally occurring materials in the landscape to create transient, temporary art pieces documented photographically, these latest installations being inspired by that time spent outdoors. The natural materials used in the installations were found, however, not only in the forests, beaches, and mountain trails around Cape Town, but also in urban areas where we can still walk among the trees and catch fleeting glimpses of sunlight through their leaves. I think one of the biggest challenges and goals that we have at the moment is to reconnect with nature, no matter who/where we are.

Found objects, carving and mixed media

Rock, bone and wire - each one decomposes or erodes at different stages and times to return back to earth.


Mixed media and charcoal drawings


Laser cut woodpiece, found piece of wood (found in Upington, many years ago) and a wire-bound piece of rock - the three pieces forming a mini-installation that aims at evoking a yearning to be in nature.


A plaster of paris carving on a wood foot piece

Perform or come look

As part of the HumanEarth exhibition showing at Wessel Snyman Creative at the moment, we're going to do a performance art event on Thursday evening from 6pm. We're still planning and arranging some of the 'acts', and anyone can take part. The theme is around human interaction with nature, the ways that we either harm or help the natural environment, and the exhibition as well as event is aimed at promoting and initiating conversation and dialogue around this.

If you're interested in participating - either behind the scenes or as a performance artist, contact Nastasha Daniels - nastasha797@gmail.com, or me at art@janetbotes.co.za.

Viva for making things happen!!

Don't miss the exhibition opening!

So I spent the day at Wessel Snyman Creative, doing my newest art installation piece, and went to Sea Point beach with Nastasha Daniels to fetch some more pebbles for the said installation work. The great unveiling of this new work is at the opening of HumanEarth: conversation, which is tomorrow, Tuesday, at 7pm at 17 Bree street, Cape Town CBD. If you miss the opening, not to worry, the exhibition runs till 22 January, next Saturday. You'll only be missing out on free wine, and great conversations. But at least you'll see the art!



See you tomorrow evening!

For the leaflet/invitation to the exhibition, scroll down a bit on my blog, or follow this link for the art exhibition invitation.

A view of the woud

You might recognize this scene. This watercolour painting (which is still a work in progress) is done from the same photograph that inspired my oil painting "Wandel" last year. The watercolour gives a very different atmosphere than the oil paint did, and I feel that this painting will be closer to what I want to achieve. Watch this space for progress!

Little sketches from the garden