ABOUT THE ARTIST

In the mid 80’s, with an MSc Applied Science in his back pocket, Stephen headed to Swakopmund to do vibration analysis on rotating shafts on the local uranium mine. Walking in the town one afternoon with Aura, his wife, he was arrested by a painting in the window of a gallery. A highly skilled watercolour. An exhibition. A local artist. And – he offered watercolour classes. Stephen signed up immediately.
“I recall the thrill of those first classes. I remember cycling home through the dark, misty streets of Swakopmund with the evening’s work taped to our breadboard in my pack.” – The journey had begun. The Namib is so mysterious, so harsh and yet so subtle. Enigmatic, unforgiving yet delightful watercolour is ideal for seeing it.
A few years later Stephen left the siennas, umbers and ochres of the Namib for the limitless shades of green of the Fair Cape. But Namib roots run deep. In 1998 Stephen took 80 watercolours up to Swakopmund for his first ever solo exhibition “Animus et Anima”.

Stephen teaches watercolour and continues to exhibit solo and with art associations. In August 2023 he was awarded “Best Watercolour” at the Annual exhibition of the South African Society of Artists.

For 20 years he has facilitated workshops for teams to set strategy, launch projects and deal with team dynamics. Then in 2020 the whole world locked down. “Two weeks to flatten the curve” turned into three months. With no end in sight and online team facilitation being fraught with difficulties Stephen decided to shift focus. After painting watercolour for 35 years and a discipline of ‘one watercolour a day’ he had a rich body of work. He laid his desire to use the gift before God, contracted with his wife and set out to seek his fortune in watercolour.

At the end of 2020 he selected 13 watercolours from his portfolio to publish his first watercolour calendar, all about Radloff Park. Each year since then he has created a portfolio of watercolours, and a calendar. In 2021 he focused on Helderberg Basin. The 2022 topic was the Lourens River. As 2023 draws to a close he has completed a portfolio of watercolours celebrating False Bay.

Stephen lives in Somerset West with his wife Aura. His three children are making their own way in the world. He celebrates his recent progress as Watercolourist in his exhibition.

WHAT I WANT TO SHOW IN MY WATERCOLOURS

I seek to reflect our yearning to return
to the garden by painting what I see
each crag, each tree
each boulder shaped through ages
each creature, each person
created unique
I want to honour the detail in watercolour
I want to highlight the truth, beauty and goodness
in the unfolding story of God’s creation

Join us for the exhibition in Lanzerac’s White Wine Cellar from 1 December 2024 to 15 January 2025
Daily from 08h00 – 19h00
No entry fee.

Visit Stephen’s website at www.sjqwatercolour.com