Artist: Ann Maree Harrington- Queensburgh

Colourful and full of fun - good to have Ann Maree exhibiting again!! The Ladies in the Vegetable Patches are back on exhibit again; but with a new addition -top left (The Day the Photographers came) the set is now complete!!

Always happy to oblige with a quirky twist -
The Abandoned Madonna -
an oil painted from a photo taken
at an abandoned Catholic church in
Inchanga, KZN - is sure to draw interest!!


However, Ann Maree still remains a firm supporter of all things natural - "Herbs I & II" and the "Strictly Organic" oils bear testimony to that..

Artist: June Burgess - Durban North

June is back and in "fine form"!!...she will be exhibiting watercolours this time around - exquisite pieces - a set of botanical Olde English Roses I & II and another , less botanical; but as beautifully painted and suitably titled "Whimsical Poppies"

Photographer:Emil von Maltitz - Durban

Emil's professional approach, creative talent and his very evident passion for photography made it a 'must' to get him on board for the exhibition!! He has been involved in photography for the better part of the last two decades of which the last three have been spent shooting stock photography for image libraries.






He currently works as a freelanceassignment photographer, and also shoots commercial assignments and weddings.

I asked Emil to write a few lines about himself - to quote: 'My love of photography really extends into the prints that I produce as art..Landscape and nature photography are my natural photographic interests. I am particularly interested in the way that colour is depicted through photography - from the garish and bold through to subtle shades- in a way that images are able to seem almost real than reality, and can evoke an emotion in the viewer."



..............that's an almost tangible evidence of the passion he has for what he does.................. he's quite a dab writer too!!

These five photos (from the top: Fallen Cashew Leaves; Dune 45 through branches; Aloe Profusion; Sunflower Field and Abandoned Stairwell) will be on exhibit - however, more of Emil's images can be viewed on his website - www.limephoto.co.za

Sandy Boltman - Umhlanga

Sandy has been painting for a number of years now, in fact, ever since she came to South Africa form Singapore in 1994.

Sandy has a quiet, gentle and peaceful disposition which is clearly reflected in her work.....whether it be in the tranquil watercolours or the colourful oils that she paints.

I asked Sandy why she paints - she had this to say, " ...because I enjoy the creativity of it and it
makes me relax..." - sounds like a good enough reason to me!!






All paintings posted here - the oils: Palm I & II, Fruit in abstract;Girl with Hat;Girl with Bow; Baby in Bonnet and the watercolour "Early Morning Mist" will be on the exhibition.

Jean Whysall - Durban North

I am delighted that Jean will be participating again and as always, her work is inspiring!! With just enough attention to detail without overworking it....


The two oils on canvas that are posted here - Cape Cottages (landscape) and Spring (floral) will be on the exhibit.



The post will be edited should Jean have more work completed.

ARTIST - Brian Wastie - Leisure Bay

I am so pleased to introduce Brian's work to the SmArt Art blog - finding a new talented artist who is committed to excellence is always so encouraging!!

Brian has been actively involved in the world of Art and Photography for over 20 years. He is also quite a computer fundi and enjoys using these skills to manipulate selected media (photography/paint/pastels) to create his unique pieces. His technique could almost described, one could say, as one of cause and effect...................

I asked Brian to sum up why he does what he does - he was to the point about it, a characteristic that is key in his overall approach.

"The reason I do my Art is because I enjoy Photography and with all this new technology to blend the two it's very rewarding - at what one can achieve,...."

Brian will be exhibiting these three canvasses - Elephant (looking after a baby), Impala (licking) and the Squirrels -on the forthcoming exhibition.

I look forward to Brian's future contributions!!

POST EXHIBITION INFO

Thought it time to post an update on the happenings of the APRIL 2008 exhibit. This one proved to be rather an interesting and challenging one in all aspects! Interesting because of the "new' visitors to the exhibition- an exciting happening in the development/growth of these exhibits. Challenging(as always) because to hang the art co-hesively, giving due attention and credit to each piece is no easy feat!! Hopefully the photos posted here will give some sort of indication...................


The exhibition was blessed with glorious weather! This meant that there was no need to put the blinds down on the verandah - which made more light available (okay except for the one evening when we had load shedding- thanks to my Dad for the generator!!) and the 'feel' more open and airy!





It's always a welcoming site to see people coming in; but even more gratifying is the look of pleasure and surprise on their faces when they see the quality of the work available - and for that - a great big thank you to all the artists!!






As sales go - which is after all, one of the reasons why we have the exhibition - I would have liked to have seen more of the art sell ( I'm sure that I'm not alone in my thinking here...) but am not unhappy with the overall outcome ie 13 pieces sold over a 3 day period!



What was encouraging is that the blog helped to sell several of the pieces and after the exhibition, I happened to speak to a few people who had not been able to make it to the exhibit; but had in fact gone onto the site to look at what was going to be shown.





In particular, a comment made to me was that it helped 'nervous' art buyers to get an idea of who the artist was, their background and to see their works collectively............an overall impression was created.



I view this as extremely positive feedback and look forward to future art /exhibition run-up posts!!




This post would not be complete without congratulations given to those artists who sold, namely

Ann Maree Harrington;
Trish Lang;
Sharon Goulding;
Shena MacDonald and
Jean Scott



Something I've come to realise, after due consideration to comments made/general feedback is that the Smart Art Exhibitions are still in a season of growth


- it's an exciting time with many ideas/suggestions to be considered which I hope will give way to an even more successful exhibition the next time (which is due to run towards the end of July).