Cape Town-based artist Lucie de Moyencourt is hosting a new exhibition featuring 280 individual sketches.

Having started sketching 15 years ago while travelling through Spain, Lucie has become renowned for her whimsical ink drawings that capture candid moments.

For this exhibition, the focus is on Cape Town. This will be the first time that Lucie is exhibiting her personal sketches from her notebooks. The unframed A4 sketches, created using a combination of watercolours, koi markers and ink, will sell for R1 000 each.

The exhibition coincides with a play showing at the Fugard Theatre, called Happy New Year, for which Lucie has illustrated the projections for the set.

The exhibition runs from 2 February (10 am until 2pm) until 28 February at the Voorkamer Gallery at Chandler House, located at 53 Church Street, Cape Town.  For more information, visit thevoorkamergallery.com or contact info@chandlerhouse.co.za.

The post Lucie de Moyencourt’s Sketching Cape Town Exhibition appeared first on Visi.

Born to British and South African parents, illustrator T.S Abe has a flair for creating hyper-realistic portraits. This compelling artist, who has done work for brands like Nike, Gucci, Netflix and The New York Times, chats to VISI about growing up in Brixton in the UK, her love of GIFs and the moment she realised that drawing for a living was achievable.

How did growing up in Brixton affect how you approach your work?

Growing up in the heart of Black Britain, attending the top high school in the borough (that was also girls only and 98% black), not to mention having a mother who ensured we were well versed in British and South African political history (my brothers, for example, are named Samora and Bereng after Samora Machel and Prince Seeiso) incubated me from the overt racism and cultural isolation that I know a lot of my black and mixed peers living in the suburbs suffered. I do think my work was freer and more expansive as a result.

Where did you study?

I did a foundation course in Art & Design at Central Saint Martins with a view to pursuing my degree in Fine Art there, but I really didn’t feel I was learning enough to justify the expense of a degree, so I didn’t!

What motivated you to create the self-portrait GIF series? How would you describe your mindset while working on these illustrations?

I’ve been making self-portraits for about 12 years. For me, animating my portraits injects a sense of fun and wonder back into the process. Once I’d mastered a way of producing my own realistic drawings, they just felt a bit “paint by numbers”. Animating the drawings, like adding surreal elements in earlier works, is another way of subverting the photorealistic practice and revealing the human hand again. Film is a major influence – I’m obsessed with Tarantino and Studio Ghibli GIFs, the moodiness of Wong Kar-wai masterpieces and, of course, sci-fi treasures like The Fifth Element and The Matrix.

How long does it take to create each one?

Ideas sit in the back of my head for years and when I can’t avoid them any longer I make an attempt to get them on paper. The process will then run over a few weeks, from shooting footage to browsing my research folders filled with images from The British Museum & Sotheby’s, for objects or motifs to mould the work. Then it’s on to hand-drawing the frames and finally stitching them together again, digitally.

Which was the first big brand job you completed that impacted your artworks on a personal level?

I covered a London bus for TFL (Transport for London) in my self-portraits at 16. It featured me pointing to the Hobo Sign – these were signs the hobo community used to evade police detection. Alongside a somewhat cliched oil-drenched peace symbol and a giant roving eye, that translated as “Look out! The authorities are on the watch”. It was a public commentary on Britain’s early 2000s surveillance atmosphere and foreign policy, vis-à-vis the Iraq war and the Iran nuclear deal. Seeing my work outside of my bedroom on a large scale for the first time was unforgettable. I got an inkling that drawing for a living wasn’t as preposterous as I had thought.

Do you have new projects that you’re currently working on?

I’m in the early stages of developing book volumes of both my self-portraits and travel sketches.

To see more of T.S’s work, visit tsabe.co.uk or follow her on Instagram.

The post Self-portraits By Artist T.S Abe appeared first on Visi.

In 2008, Ashleigh Olsen gave up her environmental science career to become a full-time wildlife artist. Her emotive drawings, paintings and photography have won her many accolades, yet she tirelessly continues with her conservation efforts. Awed by her lovely work, we sat her down.

What did you want to be as a child?

A game ranger or nature conservationist; my heroines were Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey.

What did you grow up to be?

My degree was in environmental science, but after only a few years as an environmental consultant I decided to pursue a career as a professional artist.

Where do you live and why?

I moved to Simon’s Town from Uganda four years ago. I chose Simon’s Town because I had missed the ocean so much.

What do you see through your window first thing in the morning?

I live in an old Victorian house with beautiful sash windows, so I see my veggie garden and bird bath.

What inspires you?

I love to travel to wildlife areas in Africa, where I gather reference material and get inspiration for my artworks.

What makes your work special?

I feel my work conveys the magic of nature and Africa. Through my work, I try to connect people to nature and provide a space for stillness and reflection.

For more information, visit ashleigholsen.com.

The post Artists We Love: Ashleigh Olsen appeared first on Visi.