Artists We Love: Adrie le Roux

INTERVIEWED BY Lindi Brownell Meiring

We caught up with talented Pretoria-based illustrator and artist Adrie le Roux about creation, collaboration and what we can expect from her next.

What do you love most about creating?

There is always something unexpected in the process. My art and illustrations often seem to take on a life of their own and guide me in the direction that they want to go. This ‘letting go’ is one of the most daunting, but also the most rewarding parts of the creative process for me.

Which medium do you love to work in the most?

I mostly work with acrylic and collage.

Describe your aesthetic in a tweet.

Subtle, often humorous abstract compositions combining ink, pencil drawing, painting & collage.

If you had to collaborate with a South African artist, who would you choose, and why?

Ah, there are just too many! South Africa has such a great mix of creative energies; it would be difficult to choose one person. I really admire the work of South African poet Finuala Dowling. Her first volume of poetry, I Flying, was arguably the written piece that inspired me to study illustration. There is something about her writing that is so accessible, so true and so relatable. I see her poems as drawings.

Do you have any exciting projects coming up?

I have a small solo show coming up in Cape Town in July at The Drawing Room in Observatory. It’s going to be called Farrah was not a Dalmation and features the story of a misidentified English Pointer.

I’m also illustrating a number of short stories for a children’s reading app – soon to be launched. Keeping in line with my interest in illustration, I’m working towards my PhD, investigating the potential of wordless picture books in cultivating a culture of reading.

View more of Adrie’s work at adrieleroux.co.za.