Around the Cape
- suzannenicholl
- Aug 16
- 2 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
In January I returned to South Africa for the first time in 28 years. It was wonderful recollecting what had been an awesome adventure and a special time in my life.
Returning to places of significance has its risks, but this one paid off.
My time there filled me with colour, joy and gratitude - for the beauty of the country, the flora and fauna, but mostly for the people.
Their journey of transformation is ongoing, but just like 30 years ago, their courage and spirit remains inspiring.
My work this year tries to reflect the fragility & resilience of the nature and community I felt there.
I want to use my materials in a way that treads the line between success and failure. A balance of ruin and repair.
I needed to travel relatively lightly so I chose a few sketchbooks and a strip of raw canvas, rather than paper - easier to roll and pack.
I brought dry materials, afraid to risk spillage on a long haul - oil, dry and water soluble pastels mostly and a gouache palette.
While I was there, I bought a random secondhand book to work in - just one that jumped off the shelf at me. I find altering a book sparks all sorts of connections.
And then, when I wasn't haring around the Cape, I set up impromptu studios. So with sand between my toes and my 30 year old playlist in my ears, I danced around, drawing and painting my nature finds, and whatever else came into my mind.
Keeping that holiday feeling can be a challenge, at the best of times, but returning to a Yorkshire residency in February, shovelling coal amongst sleet and snow, really did feel like a different world.
This is where the sketch book and canvas studies came into their own. For me studies are an aide memoir, or a hashtag back to a time and place.
Recording observations in the field, reinforces the hand, eye and mind connection. They become relatively easy to tap back into, even on the opposite side of the world.
So in my Yorkshire studio, I laid out my materials, put on my music and painted! There was a lot of dancing involved - not just to relive the African summer vibe, but a necessary tactic to stay warm!!
I wanted to use a form of oil resist in the work and combine with washes of paint and ink, to see what effects I could achieve. I love the experimental phase. Some you win, and some you don't.
I also want the work to feel full - full of life, colour, and rich texture. I want it to have an urgency that doesn't give the viewer a place to rest - we ain't got time for resting!!
This series of work has opened up my practice in a way I see continuing for sometime yet. Who knows - I may need to go back to the Cape on another reccie!!
Many pieces are still in progress, but there are a few that will be ready for Open Studios at the end of August. You can view them below.
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