We travel back to Jeffreys Bay once again in this post – to meet the lovely artist Liezel de Lange. Liezel strikes me as an unassuming lady with a soft heart – there is something of that present in her art as well. Her drawings show a delicate touch and an exploration of colour and shapes.
With most of the artists I chat to, I ask about their background first and to tell me a little more about themselves.
Liezel de Lange studied art and obtained a 3-year diploma in Fine Art from the Vaal University of Technology where she majored in painting and drawing. Printmaking and Photography served as her minors.
“Art has always been something I have been interested in. One of my very first art memories was sitting next to one of those old heaters, decorating it with crayons and loving how wonderful it felt to feel the wax melt.
I attended my first art class at 8 years old (my teacher was wonderful). We even made a sculpture of a head by making a mold and cast it out of plaster Paris.
In Highschool, I went to a local artist for oil painting classes once a week. I always say she taught me everything that I know about colour.”
Liezel has lived in Jeffreys Bay for the last 5 years – after moving from Gauteng – and describes it as a wonderful place.
“I am part of a wonderful collective of local artists and we exhibit and work together regularly. I work from my home studio and from the Gallery – which is at the collective. We all run it together and I give various classes and workshops weekly. We also try to do Plein Air painting together as much as possible. I am really blessed to have found my artistic home. Most days I am either working on my own work or teaching.”
Liezel’s style is very interesting – I tell her that I simply love the way she seems to weave her artworks together. There also always seems to be some natural element featured and I sense a strong reference to nature in her work.
“I think I have always had a very strong artistic voice and have always struggled to paint or draw what was expected. I had a lecturer who told me to stop painting pretty pictures and this was the early 1990’s when there was so much dark political art and art had to shock. At the time, there was a national drawing competition for all the tertiary institutions – one of my drawings was selected. It was a depiction of 3 pigs in a row, leaning on a stone wall wearing sunglasses – such a happy and humorous drawing!
Nature is my biggest form of inspiration – human emotion, the scale of things, small things that become bigger – almost to show that everything holds equal value.
I love bringing in a touch of whimsical and dreamy aspects as well and I call this range of my work my Dreamscape range. I do a more realistic range including botanicals and landscapes as well. Lately I have also started exploring portraits a bit more.
Previously I did murals for lodges and hotels, private homes, offices, themed children’s rooms and commissioned paintings for interior decorators. For 20 plus years, a had to paint what people wanted, other than the odd commission, but am really trying to paint and draw from my heart and mind now.”
“My all-time favourite paper is Fabriano (hot pressed 300gr) and Bockingford. I tried Pastelmat for the first time now with my lavender drawing and I really liked it, so it definitely won’t be the last time.
My favourite colouring pencils are Polychromos Graphite and I really like the Lyra and also their charcoal pencils. When it comes to pastels I think it will have to be Schminke and Rembrandt.”
I laugh as she admits that her artistic dream is have unlimited art supples – I cannot even tell anyone how often I’ve had a vivid lucid dream of a trolley dash in an art supply store!!
Liezel tells me that she things all artists often struggle with getting that initial creative spark down on paper – and this is also a challenge she encounters.
“It’s often difficult to get it to show what you want to convey because it is not just recreating a reference photo, it is showing and conveying something else.”
On my question on whether there is any advice she’d give her younger self – something that she feels would have helped her along on her own artistic journey, Liezel answers matter of factly.
“To not have got disillusioned with Art Galleries and to keep holding on to your voice and your view of the world.”
I wince a little as it hits close to home – its great advice to any aspiring artist and advice that all of us can take to heart!
As I finish typing this blog, I notice a new email from Liezel and her message makes me smile.
She writes in reply to two of her artworks being accepted into the Degrees of Realism 2022 Art Exhibition. She mentions that she feels honoured and how one can ‘fluff things up’ with painting, but that with drawing the bare bones are visible.
It rings very true – drawing leaves very little to hide behind – every line matters.
Its been great gettign to know you Liezel – thank you for sharing your insights!
- @delangeliezel