A diverse selection of Eastern Cape artists is exhibiting their work at St Andrew’s College on the school’s Cornish Verandah. Nomfundo Mbatha called on four of them.
Paul Marx
Paul Marx from Port Alfred specialises in watercolour landscapes and urban scenes painted on the best British and French archival watercolour paper. He has also had calendars of his paintings printed, he said and his work has been featured in art magazines. Although the retired Marx refers to his art as a hobby, he has been creating consistently for the past nine years.
Chanelle Staude
Chanelle Staude’s exhibition is a heartfelt reflection of resilience and mastery, rooted in the East London area. She is a Rhodes University alumnus, with cum laude in painting and theory of art. Her passion for the landscape is vividly captured in her oil works where her deep emotional connection to painting shines. “Light is breaking through,” she says, referencing her journey through breast cancer and her return to art. Her paintings carry the spirit of survival and hope.
Deanne Turnbull is an artist and teacher who uses charcoal and acrylic to create her artwork. Photo: Nomfundo Mbatha
Deanne Turnbull
Deanne Turnbull renders the vibrant world of birds with remarkable contrast and precision using charcoal and acrylic. “Owls, in particular, have become a recurring theme in my work,” she said, drawn to their mystery and vivid presence. Originally from Johannesburg, she is now a painting and drawing teacher in Makhanda. Turnbull’s background in mural painting and visual arts education is evident in her expressive technique.
A Clare Rothwell upcycled creation. Photo: Nomfundo Mbatha
Clare Rothwell
Clare Rothwell, an upcycling artist from Bathurst, started to explore her medium when she could not find the right lamp and decided to make her own. That was back in 2015 and now she runs a studio creating lamps that are also artworks. “I use what other people call ‘waste’ and I turn it into the artwork,” she said. She uses newspaper and cardboard to construct animals that shed light, each of them one of a kind.
