About the artist

Written by Administrator

Thursday, 04 June 2009 11:03

Nicole Cronje is a young and talented upcoming artist residing in the beautiful city of Cape Town. Nicole is self taught with a background in Fashion Design. She worked in the fashion industry for two years and as a make-up artist in London and South Africa for a further two years.

Nicole began her career as an illustrator fulltime in the beginning of 2008.

Her work is whimsical, lighthearted and feminine, the style of which is clearly influenced by her background in fashion. Her subject matter is diverse although each piece reflects her love for detail, pattern and the drawn line. Her subjects conjure up memories of happy summer days and youthful freedom. The effect is so wonderful, that if a piece appeals to you, your heart decides immediately that it must be yours!

Nicole has always been inspired by artists such as Gustav Klimt, Aubrey Beardsley and textile wonder, William Morris. One great inspiration includes the artworks found on the covers of Vogue magazines in the early 1900’s.

Nicole has a fascination with pattern and intricate design, she collects photographs and swatches of textiles, architectural detailing and printed wallpaper. She believes that beauty and talent lie in making the smallest pattern a thing of abject beauty and design achievement.

Continually researching concepts for new artworks, Nicole derives great pleasure in visiting the wonderful cultural scene in and around Cape Town. Some of her favorite haunts include lively markets such as Green Market Square and The Old Biscuit Mill, the eclectic and bohemian Long Street, the Waterkant area as well as the charming villages of Kalk Bay and Simonstown in the Southern Suburbs of the city.

Nicole is extremely passionate about African design and craft and is continually evolving this great source of inspiration into new and fresh works which reflect a modern approach to the subject.

The majority of her work is black ink on paper. In some work, silver, copper and gold-leaf is used to give shimmering magical backgrounds to the focal point. Acrylic paint is used where colour is evident.

In a world continually demanding of new technologies to replace human error, Nicole remains loyal to the work of the human hand. Spending her time in the age old craft of sketching and drawing, she appreciates the beauty that can be found in the simple drawn line, where the only technology used is a pen and the driving energy behind it is the human imagination and creative spirit.

Nicole's art can be found in galleries in and around Cape Town.

Latest Blogs

Watch this space!

24.06.2011

sorry! trying to learn a new system on my blog and until I get it right this will have to be my latest blog!!!

My Style

14.05.2011

So it’s probably about time that I explain a little more about my style of Art and why I work the way I do.

Sorry this is a long one…

Firstly for some reason I am obsessed by paper. I like the smell of it, the texture of it and the crisp whiteness of it (I work predominantly on Ariston). This could be attributed to by my many years of watching The Office and the inspiration that is Michael Scott… but somehow I think not…

Next I have always LOVED the artistry of Textile Design (cloth and wallpapers). I was fortunate enough to do Textile Design and Art for 3 years at High School and it was pure joy. I would sit for hours and hours inking in the negative of the print (we used the old silk-screening method) and I think that’s where the bug for OTT detail first set in (I work a lot with Rotering Ink and Rotering Pens). I remember my uniform was permanently covered in colourful ink and paint, and I was always late for classes due to sneaking off to get some extra time in (i.e. I was a bit…uh.. weird). I’m ashamed to admit that I bunked the odd Guidance/English/Afrikaans/Math/Science (!) class to do so (my poor teachers). So I think this influence shines through a lot in my work (not the bunking, the Art!).

I love colour and unusual combinations of colour as well as black ink. But I’d have to say my favorite is white. I try use a lot of white in my work. I do this by allowing the paper to show through wherever white is needed (where possible) instead of painting with white (*see ‘Just Dandy’ and ‘Yellowtail’ as refs.). I get a kick out of seeing the texture of the paper in the white (guilty pleasures). And of course I love working with silver/gold/copper leaf as it tends to add a real ethereal quality to the work.

Then of course I studied and worked in Fashion/Make-up/Styling for a few years. I’ve been a MAC girl, a Fashion Buyers Assistant, a Stylist and a Head Designer (…a xmas present wrapper a holiday penguin-suit wearer, a film extra, a shop girl and a waitress…:0) so I’ve been through the ringer as far as the creative industry goes. These years definitely helped hone my eye and my approach.

Obviously my passion for Art and Design Theory played its part as well (I call myself an Illustrator because I work with pen and paper).

I’m a Christian (always have been)...

And I suffer from time to time with depression. So my art is real therapy for me.

All of these factors merge together to form the work I’m producing now.

I Hope this helps clarify things for those of you who ask “so what Art do you do?”

xxx

Fish Man

05.08.2011

I recently did an artwork for my beloved husband Sean, as a birthday present and thank you for being such a loving support, encouragement and joy in my life.

*see ‘Living Jewels’

The subject matter could be none other than Koi fish as Sean absolutely adores them and all manner of fish. I often tease him about his obsession and one of the many unfortunate nicknames I have for him is Fish Man… sorry Love!

Sean also loves fishing and he bred Koi fish as a child so I hope the picture captures the happy memories he has of that time.

I really enjoyed doing this piece as studying the fish further reiterated once again just how beautiful creation is and how the truest artist really is our Creator God.

So… Happy birthday my Fish Man! I love you very much...

xxx

Cosmos Country

24.06.2010

I’ve just finished an artwork which I really enjoyed, named Cosmos Country…

*it will be in the Botanical category of my Facebook group- I HEART ART, http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/I-Heart-Art/114657411897008?ref=sgm or on my website gallery.

The reason I enjoyed doing this artwork is that firstly, I love Cosmos flowers and they remind me a lot of my childhood in KwaZulu Natal, Ladysmith.We spent a lot of time playing in the veldt and on friend’s farms there.

And secondly, my Grandfather (Edward Hansen), who was also an artist and a greatly adored figure in my life, painted Cosmos scenes.

I have pictures of him painting them (they were some of his earliest works). He was a self taught Artist who only took up painting on retirement from a successful entrepreneurial career. He was forced into retirement owing to a very weak heart and even had to re-learn to paint left-handed due to losing the fine-mobility of his right hand.

My mother's parents have always been nearby and growing up, seeing him happy and relaxed, painting beautiful local scenery was a great influence on me.

xxx