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.
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.
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.
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
