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Inspiration for my landscapes is drawn from the Karoo. There is something about the Karoo that resonates with my soul. The vast space, crisp skies, unusual rock formations and “koppies”, coupled with the solitude of the area enable one to find rest from the hectic and often destructive way of life considered the ‘norm’. The sky is God’s canvas, and the colours you will often see during a Karoo sunset seem surreal; hue’s of oranges, pinks, greens, purples and reds combine in one sunset ignoring all art- schools rules of colour combinations. There are so many images apart from the natural beauty of the area that I find appealing - farm houses, simple labourer’s cottages, a windmill, a rusty wreck, washing hanging on a barbed wire fence etc.
My abstract pieces differ in style and execution. Some are geometric, clinical, painted smoothly and usually planned to some extent. Others are very spontaneous; the paint sometimes applied thickly with a palette knife. Alternatively I allow the paint to run, and will use diverse methods and tools to create a specific piece. Often I will end up with a piece that I had no intention of painting, and am just as surprised at the end result as anyone else. In fact I feel like a spectator in the process. Images are there: waiting to be recognized and that is exciting. Passion must precede technical perfection, for it is easier to have the first and acquire the latter, than vice versa. For that reason, I try to remain true to myself there are days when I simply cannot paint, and if I do, the artwork will acquaint itself with the blade of an axe. However, when “it’s happening” and the inspiration is there, nothing else matters at that moment in time.
Rick was born in Pretoria in 1963. He matriculated in 1981, and spent 1982 – 1984 doing his military conscription in the South African Air Force. He then obtained his Bachelor, Honour’s, and Masters degrees in Theology. He is a self-taught artist, who started painting full-time in 1989. His first solo exhibition was at the Sanlam Centre, Pretoria, in 1989. Since then, he has had numerous solo and joint exhibitions throughout South Africa.
