I’m absolutely delighted to finally be able to show you around Barrydale, where I live, and why it is such an inspiration to my work. This short little 3 minute reveal will give you a great idea of the area that inspired my new print collection. You can now put a (terra)face to the art and get to compare the landscape to the creations.
Just cllick on the picture below to view the video 😉 Please feel free to comment, I’d love to hear what you think of this remote South African slice of heaven.
Here is a start to finish process of my latest illustration, ‘Sister Africa’ – a tribute to the beauty of the people, flora and fauna of South Africa.
And the finished product:
You can get all sorts of prints and products of this artwork by clicking HERE or on the picture above.
‘The Fall and The Return’ by Cherie Roe Dirksen Acrylic on Boxed Canvas 762mm x 255mm x 40mm $415 (incl. international courier)
*UPDATE: The original painting has now been sold*
What’s it About?
This painting is from the perspective of the person coming out of the woods onto the path. It’s a pause for observation or perhaps even hesitation.
Who is coming out of the woods and where are they heading?
There is an eerie feeling as one wonders what their intentions are and a sense of hope as the village in the distance looks promising and the birds are also looking out onto the village, giving it a sense of serenity.
The title was formed from a combination of suggestions from friends. I put the artwork out onto my facebook page and asked my peeps to see what title they came up with.
I eventually settled on a combination of 2 suggested titles — one was about ‘fall’ (being a very autumnal landscape) and one was about ‘the return’ (as in the prodigal son), which I liked very much. So, the title has an ambiguous meaning which I thought was fitting.
The Style
I tried a new style which merged my landscape (in the background) with an overlay of my tree silhouettes in the foreground — giving it a sense of greater depth.
The background received a yellow ‘wash’ of paint to make it appear a little blurred and the trees were executed in a sharp manner (I used permanent ink for the smaller branches) to render the forest more in focus.
If you liked this painting, you may also like this one called ‘Proliferation‘:
You can view the rest of my available pieces HERE.
Update: All 3 paintings below are now sold and with an art collector in Cape Town, South Africa.
A Phoenix, Some Crocs and the Djinn
I was experimenting with a few of my original paintings and put these three together – I think they look rather spiff altogether as a triptych, what do you think?
These are from my 42 Exhibition (you can download the FREE booklet of art and poems here) which explored the meaning of life.
Click HERE to view the 42 Exhibition collection. Prints available too!
Other articles you may enjoy:
It’s been a while since I did an art blog and it’s been an even longer while since I did one of my pastel poppy drawings (it’s actually been years! I’ve been mostly painting in acrylic these days).
I missed using pastels so I decided to do a BIG poppy artwork and photograph the process so you can glimpse it taking shape.
Here are the photo’s (it took me close to 2 months to finish — I certainly took my time! lol):
Stage 1: It begins…flowers are laid out first, then I fill in the background pattern
Stage 2: More poppies are added to the mix
Stage 3: The background is completed and detail has been added to the poppies. I was working outdoors for more light (you can see the famous R62 in the background 😉
Stage 4: It’s finished (and so am I! lol…)
For all you art enthusiasts who simply must have the original — you’re in luck! It’s still available through Saatchi — click HERE or click on picture below (you’ll also find excellent quality prints at Saatchi to suit your pocket and needs).
For those on a tighter budget — no worries — you can get high quality prints (or perhaps you fancy a cushion cover or iPhone skin?) by clicking HERE. An extra large photographic print is under $46!!! There are lots of print options available as well as products and clothing with this design on — there’s nothing more fabulous than wearing the art you love! ❤
Thanks for coming on this artsy journey with me!
Other articles you may enjoy:
Quirky New Designs: Putting Pets to Good Use
As many of you may know, I’m South African. And, what you may also know is, our national flower is the beautiful Protea.
I’ve been dabbling in painting (see painting on your right) these magnificent flowers and decided to start the new year off with a Designer Protea Product Line (below) — I hope you like it 🙂
There will be more to come in the future as I set out to infuse your living space and wardrobe with some fine and funky paraphernalia.
You can view all the products and pricing HERE.
Which is your favourite product? I’d love to hear from you.
Title: “Panspermia”
Artist: Cherie Roe Dirksen
Size: 800mm x 800mm x 44mm
Medium: Acrylic and Mixed Media on Boxed Canvas
Panspermia is a hypothesis that suggests that life exists throughout the universe and can be distributed via comets, meteorites, asteroids, etc. It is a theory that even Stephen Hawking subscribed to in a presentation about space in 2009, and a concept that the late archaeologist, Zecharia Sitchin, wrote about in his Earth Chronicles (where he documented his findings about extraterrestrial intervention here on Earth whilst translating the Sumerian tablets).
When I began work on this painting I had absolutely no preconceived idea of what it was I was going to paint. I started out trying a new marbling technique I’d seen on a YouTube video that I thought looked pretty cool. When I’d finished doing this effect on the canvas I began to see ‘things’ in there.
My job then was to extract and give shape and form to what I was seeing. Some things were recognizable and quite common (for instance, the lions face, fish, eyes, a yummy looking chocolate rabbit) but then other interesting forms started to emerge that I couldn’t explain.
The work I did in the top left hand corner came right at the end. As I stepped back from the picture, I got the feeling that this piece was trying to transcend the space/time realm. Then I got the idea to insert the clockwork/gears/mechanisms as if they were falling apart or unraveling as the artwork takes you into the ‘timeless’ realm or what I refer to as the ‘Void of All Possibility’ (as Indian spiritual author, Deepak Chopra, has touched on in his body of works).
The origins of life are strong in the subject matter and one can pick out vague assimilations of sperm, male and female genitalia as well as eggs or ovum. In this quantum soup, you get the feeling that all ideas are stewing — like the potential of a fertile womb.
I love the philosophical works of author and scientist, Gregg Braden, who touches on the Divine Matrix (matrix meaning ‘womb’ in Latin) in his books as being the field of energy that underlies all physical existence. Some of these ideas that are stewing in the painting may come to physical fruition and some may not. Maybe some are the things that nightmares are made of and others are possibility of life that will be seeded elsewhere — in realms beyond our dimension or solar system.
The spirals in my art are always symbolic of the energy that surrounds and permeates our very existence (spirals, patterns and the use of gold and metallic colours are what draws me to the work of Klimt; Van Gogh and his pure energy in motion brush strokes has also added to my fascination with spirals and energy in art). In the top left hand corner, I see glowing, spirit-like beings escaping time and melding back in to the void.
I used bits of mirror in the artwork to entice the viewer to see the piece as a reflection of their own, potentially fragmented soul — what do your eyes see?
In all, I like to express this piece as something that will tell a different story to every individual observer. Hopefully, it will be something that — when revisited — will keep on giving new insights and multi-faceted information.
Let me know what you think of the painting — what thoughts, emotions, feeling does it evoke?
Other articles you may enjoy:
Rocking Art Exhibition and Musical Show Photo’s (You Won’t Believe Who Turned Up!)
‘Exploding This Reality’ with Queen — The Last Rock(ing) Art Painting in this Series!
Getting Bored With Painting/Drawing Your Average Flower?
A few years ago I decided to mix and match the medium of chalk pastel with acrylic liner on Coloured Canson Paper. The result I got was rather pleasing and led me to do a whole collection of floral themed artworks with a distinct difference.
So What’s The ‘Difference’?
What I like to call the x-factor about these works is found in the background, which I do with an acrylic liner.
They represent the life-force of the universe — cosmic energy. The famous golden means ratio that is found in nature; the flower of life — sacred geometry. I first started off just mindlessly doodling these shapes, spirals and patterns and only later, when I looked into it, I found out that I was pretty much tapping into the universe and my subconscious mind.
Injecting Your Talent
The pattern is done by hand. I stipulate this because a lot of people have asked if the backgrounds are a stencil and they most certainly are not (no offense to people who use stencils in their work).
Needless to say, a lot of time, effort and ‘cross-eyes’/squinting goes into these pieces.
Some Favourties
Today, I’m going to showcase my Top 3 favourites, in no particular order (all the originals are sold but prints can be purchased if you click on the photo’s below):
“Lilies on Parade”
“Red Poppies”
“Arum Lilies”
Survey Time
What’s your favourite flower?
Which of the above 3 pictures did you enjoy the most?
If you enjoyed this blog, you may enjoy these too:
Thanks for looking!
Don’t forget to claim your FREE copy of ‘Creative Expression — How to find your inspiration….’ (along with other bonus free gifts)
My Art Portfolio book is also available as a glossy paperback (click on book to take you to the bookstore)
You can follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily inspiration and articles:
Cherie Roe Dirksen 