September 21, 2004
By Tabisa Mntengwana
FORMALLY opened by Henry Jensen, a member of the Watercolour Society of South Africa, at the Boskruin Library on 20 September, this year's eclectic exhibition of the Boskruin Art Group's watercolours will be on show until 15 October.
Members of the Boskruin Art Group, several retired and late-comers to working in watercolour, are as varied as the art they produce: their creative band includes a journalist, a company director, a farmer, engineers, architects, schoolteachers and housewives.
Some thought they'd never master the technique until they met art teacher Louis Aucamp. Now they hold annual exhibitions, with many of the artworks on sale.
"We hope this exhibition will be a success, just like last year's where we received great support from the public," says Aucamp, a member of the Watercolour Society of South Africa who began working with the Boskruin Art Group in May 2001.
Setting the scene at the launch were guitarists Nigel and Mark, playing selected extracts of "very different" music. "The music we play is unique and not known to many people. We hope the guests at the exhibition enjoy the performance," said Nigel Soden.
Many of the paintings on display are based on personal experience and imagination, as well as interpretations of photographs taken by the artists. Here you'll see landscapes, abstracts, or detailed close-ups of nature - each depicting the artists' unique vision.
Retired journalist Ron Anderson says: "When we go on holiday we take photographs of things that inspire us, like flowers and old houses."
On their return the photographs are discussed in the group and used as a guide for the artworks.
Paintings on exhibition are for sale and prices range from R400 for unframed works to R1 600 for framed pictures. "The prices for the exhibition are very reasonable. Art stores charge much more for the same paintings," says Sue Timm, a retired engineer.
"It is very difficult to work with watercolour because when you have started working you can't rub it out. You have to get exactly what you want," says Timm, while Anderson points out that the technique is dependent on the way the brush is used with the mix of colours and water.
"Aucamp has helped us so much with mixing colours and the use of brushes," Anderson adds.
Aucamp is a well-known water colourist who studied under Phil Breedt, Pieter Millard and Marion Townsend in the 1970s and joined the Artists in the Sun group in 1975.
The group meets every Friday from 9am to noon and every second Saturday at the Boskruin Community Centre on Kelly Road in Boskruin.
For more information, contact Louis Aucamp on 011 955 4847.
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