Author Archives: Martjie Carter

Walgaard Portrait: A Remarkable Commission

Posted by Martjie Carter
Walgaard Portrait
Walgaard Portrait

Despite the hard work that went into the 2-meter-high, life-size oil portrait of the Walgaards, it was a great joy to create and remains one of those portrait commissions where everything just fell into place. The client who commissioned this work trusted me completely from start to finish, including delivering the framed final product to their house in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Life-Size

When doing portrait commissions, whether charcoal portraits, pastel portraits or oil portraits, I don’t normally work smaller than life-size because it makes the subject look small and puny. For example, when a client wants a single head-and-shoulders portrait, life-size canvas dimensions usually work out to roughly 60 x 75 cm. If they want torso and hands included, it works out roughly about 80 x 110 cm. In the case of this portrait, the client initially wanted a full-figure, life-size oil portrait of her husband alone. Yet, as discussions continued, we concluded that the visual impact would be much more pleasing if they appeared on the painting as a couple. Needless to say, at life size, this resulted in a 2-meter-high painting. Added to that was a wide double frame in white and silver.

Walgaard Portrait - Close-up Shawl
Walgaard Portrait – Close-up Shawl
Walgaard Portrait - Close-up Hands
Walgaard Portrait – Close-up Hands
Walgaard Portrait - Close-up Feet
Walgaard Portrait – Close-up Feet

Framing of the Walgaard Portrait

Framing the Walgaard Portrait
Framed Walgaard Portrait

I am still amazed, that when this large work had to be safely transported, my friend the photographer just “happened” to have a roof rack on his 4 x 4 that also “happened” to have a flat wooden box that could be attached to it which just “happened” to be big enough to transport the framed painting in! Amazingly there everything just worked out perfectly!!

Walgaard Entrance
The 2-meter-high portrait hanging at the client’s front door entrance.

Technique versus Inspiration: The Ultimate Creative Question

Posted by Martjie Carter
Eye of the Storm
Eye of the Storm

Technique or Inspiration? What is more important? Ultimately, art happens in the viewer’s mind. It does not happen in the artist’s inspirational feelings or in his paintbrushes.  In other words, even though creativity is definitely a state of mind, this state of mind is clearly carried forward and executed as a discretionary act. Technique requires scientific knowledge of the causes and effects of the different components used in, for example, oil painting. The rational choices the artist makes during execution regarding these components directly influence the viewer’s perception and experience.

Technique Components

Examples of technique components used in painting are:

                                      Colour, values, texture, edges, drawing, design

The use of the above, in addition to many others, must be done with knowledge and deliberate intent. Thus, even though the creative process starts with and is carried forward with inspiration, the artist must still make deliberate use of certain effects, techniques or “tricks of illusion”.

Walgaard Portrait - Close-up Shawl
Walgaard Portrait – Close-up Shawl

Examples

Here are a few examples of areas where the artist can make deliberate choices that direct and influence the viewer’s perception.

  1. Colour Choices: Different colours invoke different emotional and mental responses. The artist must not only know whether the colours he uses convey his intentions, but also how to combine them effectively with other colours. In conclusion, scientific knowledge of colours, their combinations and effects is very important.
  2. Hard and Soft Edges: By using hard and soft edges intentionally, the artist draws the viewer’s eye to focal areas and away from non-focal areas. Hard edges draw attention and focus, whereas soft edges draw attention away from the focal point.
  3. Texture: Like edges, increased texture and impasto in painting draw the viewer’s attention.
  4. Design: A long horizontal line, for example, creates a feeling of expanse and peace, while vertical lines tend to divide.
Hennie Joubert
Hennie Joubert
Pretoria, South Africa

In conclusion, inspiration matters, but knowledge and visual vocabulary are even more important because they’re the vehicles through which you communicate your intentions.   

Sammy Nestico Commissions: 2 Remarkable Portraits of A National Treasure

Posted by Martjie Carter
Sammy Nestico
Click on the image for more.

Sammy Nestico

Sammy Nestico, the unassuming gentle giant in the fabric of the music of America, specifically that of big band, blues, jazz, popular and film music. Sammy has composed and arranged some of the greatest American music of all time. He has arranged and conducted albums for people such as Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Liza Minelli and numerous others on the world stage. He also recorded 10 albums of original music that received four Grammy Award nominations as well as arranged music for film studios like Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Columbia and MGM.

Sammy Nestico National Treasure
Update from Mark Nestico

Big Band Orchestra

After her university years, Martjie Carter spent 5 years playing saxophone in a Big Band orchestra in Pretoria SA, resulting in her becoming very familiar with many of Sammy Nestico’s music and arrangements.  Little did she know that, years later, while playing tenor saxophone for the Coastal Communities Band in San Diego California, she would meet Sammy and have the honour of being commissioned twice to do oil portraits of him.

Portraits

The first portrait was done in oil and was a combination of Sammy and Don Ganeva (conductor of the Coastal Communities Band) on one canvas.  

The second painting, done in oil but in a loose impressionistic style, is depicting Sammy conducting the Band in Black. This is now used on the homepage of sammynesticomusic.com.

Unveiling

 The unveiling of this artwork was hosted by the Big Band & Jazz Hall of Fame in the Star theater  Oceanside California 2003.

Sammy Nestico and Martjie Carter

Hans van der Merwe: A Remarkable Tribute

Posted by Martjie Carter
Hans van der Merwe
Hans van der Merwe
White River, Mpumalanga, South Africa – click for more

Casterbridge Mall

Anyone who has visited the Lowveld in Mpumalanga, Eastern Transvaal, has most likely also visited Kruger National Park, South Africa’s crown jewel game reserve. Passing through Nelspruit (Mombela) and White River en route to this Park, you’ll come across Casterbridge, an exquisite, picturesque, and eclectic shopping mall.  This mall, with its terrific gardens, is home to many diverse shops, mostly selling handmade produce, as well as the Hans van der Merwe & Sons furniture store. It also hosts entertainment venues like a Barnyard Theatre, a movie house, and art galleries like the contemporary art gallery and the White River Gallery, along with the famous Magnolia Restaurant.  

Not only does the mall offer a rare, aesthetic, eclectic, and entertaining experience, but it also features a large barn with unique vintage cars on display. The late owner of the Mall, Hans van der Merwe, collected these.

Hans van der Merwe Portrait

Having grown up in that beautiful, lush part of our country, I was blessed to be commissioned to paint the oil portrait of Hans van der Merwe. This large, life-size portrait now hangs in his furniture shop, Hans Van Der Merwe & Sons, near the mall entrance.

Hans van der Merwe

Vintage Car

The decision was made to paint the oil portrait of Hans standing beside his 1920 Willy Overland, a beautifully restored Kings Blue vintage car with many perfectly restored brass accessories.

Hans van der Merwe Overlander

A friend gave Hans this vehicle for his birthday as a set of loose parts he had to assemble. When Hans and his crew finally assembled it, all that was missing was one screw.

Intricate Detail

Since I normally paint my oil portrait commissions about life-size, this ended up being a large painting measuring 45” x 55”. The background was a tint of yellow ochre, which formed a pleasing combination with the royal blue of the Willy Overland and the gold ochre of its brass parts, with their numerous shiny reflections. The similarity between the ochre background and the ochre/gold tints of the brass also helped simplify the many parts of the background.

Hans van der Merwe Brass Detail

All of the above served as a contrasting backdrop to the white shirt Hans wore, his brilliant white hair, and the light skin of his face and hands, making the figure the focus of the portrait.

Unveiling

Hans van der Merwe and Martjie
Hans van der Merwe and Martjie

Boys High Commissions: 2 Inspiring Portraits of Honour

Posted by Martjie Carter

Martjie Carter had the honour of being commissioned twice by Boys High School to paint oil portraits of their former headmasters. The first was Mr Bill Schroder, and the second was Mr Tony Reeler.

Boys High Alumni

Boys High School, in the heart of Pretoria near Pretoria University, is rated as one of the top schools in South Africa. It has produced top alumni such as;

  1. Elon Musk
  2. Max Theiler – Nobel Prize Laureate for physiology and medicine
  3. Michael Levitt – Nobel Prize Laureate for Chemistry
  4. John Smit – former springbok rugby captain

The list goes on and on with the many Boys High boys who became highly successful in their respective fields. It goes without saying that Boys High must have done something very right. Nobody can achieve what the names above have achieved without strong character and strong fibre. And since they all have Boys High in common, it is logical to conclude that this school played an important part in character-building during their early years. Quoting the statement of John Smit on the cover of Mr Schroder’s Memoirs:

                       “There will only be one boss to my Pretoria Boys High memory – wise, calm and a mentor to us all.”

Mr Bill Schroder

Boys High Headmaster, Mr Schroder, and Martjie
Click on the image for more.

The first headmaster that Martjie was commissioned to paint was Mr Bill Schroder. After the unveiling, this painting is now gracing the wall of the headmaster’s study, alongside the portraits of previous headmasters done by the great Irmin Henkel.

A Headmaster's Story

Martjie’s portrait of Mr Bill Schroder was also used by Jonathan Ball Publishers on the cover of Mr Schroder’s memoirs “A Headmaster’s Story”.

 A few years later, this very company commissioned Martjie to paint a portrait of its founder and owner, Mr Jonathan Ball, who subsequently commissioned Martjie to paint a portrait of his beautiful late wife, Pam Ball.

Mr Tony Reeler

Mr Schroder’s Memoirs is a testimony to the quality. The subsequent headmaster, Mr Tony Reeler, whose portrait Martjie was also commissioned to paint, was equally formidable and under his leadership the decision was taken to restore the famous “Reeler Room”. Once completed it was also here where the portrait of Mr Reeler was unveiled.

Unveiling of Boys High Headmaster, Tony Reeler, Portrait

Turquoise, The Magnificent Colour

Posted by Martjie Carter

Turquoise, the one colour that I never tire of. I’m going to be myself here – just plain Martjie Carter. It is not a standard or safe colour. Yet all its shades suit my psyche, whether in what I wear, the décor of my house, the stationery I use, or the paintings I do. Without fail, it does something for me.

In the dazzling world of colour, there are so many totally exquisite colours. For example, strong bright pinks, magentas, midnight blues, viridian greens, ice greens, shell whites, bright golden yellows and many more. I truly love and enjoy them all, but they all have a lifespan with me. The only one I can keep around permanently, through all seasons, is the colour TURQUOISE. This applies to all its numerous shades.

Infinite Varieties of Turquoise

All the infinite varieties of turquoise say the same thing: beauty, purity, freedom and boldness. It is the colour of the sea, the colour of the ocean and the colour that makes us think of islands. Just look at the following images:

My painting “The Colour Turquois” is a large 60” x 46” oil painting.

The colour Turquoise
Click on the image for more.

I did this painting in defence of this daring, pure, and uplifting colour. It was exhibited at Knysna Fine Art in their show “THE ALLEGORY OF PAINTING”, in that beautiful space with its turquoise pillars.

Knysna Fine Art
The Colour Turquois Exhibition

More of my oil painting portraits that benefited greatly from turquoise include the life-size portrait I did of Roelien Smit, wife of internationally known sculptor Anton Smit, and the life-size, 2-meter-high oil portrait of the Walgaards.

Roelien Smit Close Up
Walgaard Portrait

Click on the images for more.

Words

Posted by Martjie Carter

It is Monday night, 27 April 2020. We are still in the corona virus lock-down. I fell asleep early evening but woke up again about midnight. There was now a drizzling rain outside with a fairly strong wind. I can hear the palm trees swaying back and forth. What a beautiful sound – their slow brush and rustle against the sky and the dignified way in which they always hold their ground.

I started thinking of words, how much I love words. Words have color and words have fiber. These fibers create textures which we gently touch and they conjure up feelings and worlds in us.

Here are some of my favorite textured words:

"The Days of His Presence"
"The time of your visitation"
"They will shine like the brightness of the firmament"
"When skies were pale above white horizons"
"Where does the song resound that we hear from afar"
"The Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb"
"It is for Your coming that the world has waited"