OUR FINE ART ARTISTS
COLEEN WILLIAMS
Coleen Williams is an artist based in White River, Mpumalanga. Her home is conveniently close to the Kruger National Park, allowing many forays in search of inspiration and photographs for her growing body of wildlife works.
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She is inspired by nature and enjoys capturing the different colours, shapes and textures of our natural world in a variety of mediums.
Born in Nelspruit in 1972, her younger years were spent in many different places, and only in 2005 did she return to her place of birth, the beautiful Lowveld. Coleen always had a passion for art and as a child spent many hours creating. She excelled in art at school, but a graphic design career took her on a different creative journey. After running her own graphic design business in Gauteng for almost 20 years, returning to her roots rekindled the spark of her creative spirit and in 2018, inspired by an old drawing, Coleen’s inner artist finally convinced her to pick up her pencils again.
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She currently finds herself on an exciting journey of rediscovering her love for art.
The years spent in digital design honed her skills with regard to colour relationships as well as composition, which enable her to digitally compose her ideas prior to painting. Her beautiful wildlife paintings are characterised by an intense passion for colour and detail. Whether it's watercolour, pastel or graphite, Coleen’s artworks are a joy and the tender touch applied is evident in each piece.
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In September 2019 she received an Honourable Mention Award in the 1st International Watermedia Festival held in Somerset West, South Africa, for her watercolour work titled ‘Basile’.
DAVID HADAWAY
David Hadaway started his artistic career as an illustrator in the advertising industry.
He began to participate in group exhibitions, followed by his first one-man show which sold out on an opening day! He then proceeded to go into painting full time.
Due to his background in illustration, he is completely comfortable in all mediums.
He is a perfectionist - always striving to capture the essence of his subject matter.
David’s style ranges from realistic to impressionistic.
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This established and technically accomplished artist exhibits both local and international, with his wildlife landscape and figurative paintings gracing the homes of art collectors worldwide.
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David has received commissions from major corporate companies such as South African Breweries, Standard Bank and Rand Merchant Bank.
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David continues to explore and evolve as an artist with an extensive portfolio containing not only Africa's large cats, great tusked elephants and Big Five. Travelling extensively in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. He creates landscapes ranging from the Karoo, spectacular lavender fields of Franschoek, the rich waters of Hellshoogte (Stellenbosch), Waterberg, and fly fishing in Dullstroom to the spectacular mountain ranges of the Drakensberg.
He has a genuine love for African wildlife and is dedicated to conserving our natural heritage.
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David is the Co-Author of Great Tuskers of Africa and David was a finalist in the David Shepard Wildlife Artists of the year 2017.
FIONA GOLDTHORPE
Born in the United Kingdom in 1974. Fiona Goldthorpe graduated from the University of Johannesburg in 1994 with a National Diploma in Graphic Design. It was during this period she developed a passion for the arts and started to explore Fine Art, alongside Commercial Art (pursuing the latter as a career).
“I have a need to communicate pictorially rather than with words. I try to push the limits of realism using both charcoal and graphite. I love these mediums for the drama and contrast I am able to create. For me, it is important to feel constantly challenged. Simply imitating reality isn't my primary goal. I feel I've successfully communicated with someone when they identify with the essence of a particular piece on a deeper level, and it brings about new thoughts or evokes certain emotions within them.
My current collection is inspired by the great faces and animals of the African continent. Faces etched like maps to an Africa that exists in a timeless world. My aim is to capture the ageless ceremony, dignity and passion of the character - be it an animal or person. Just like the medium I use depicts contrasts, so too is the core of my subject matter. Beauty and grit, strength and humility, power and vulnerability.”
After listening to that tiny whisper inside her, Fiona picked up a pencil again for the first time in over 12 years in March 2019 and her first piece entitled “Farai” was entered into the Sanlam National Portrait Awards (South Africa) and was awarded one of the Top 40 Finalists, exhibited at the Rust-en-Vrede Gallery in Durbanville.
“It's been so exciting to develop, and I love how my audience is supporting my progress. For me, it was about being brave enough to listen to that tiny voice inside me and to acknowledge I have a certain gift – yet constantly staying humble enough to know that there is always room for further growth and evolution with each new piece. I try to stay constantly unsatisfied.”
In February of 2020, Fiona was selected by Hansford & Sons Fine Art of London as one of a handful of global emerging artists on their ‘Emerging Artist Platform’. Hansford and Sons are a UK based art investment company which guides both collectors and investors both in the UK and internationally. They set up the ‘Emerging Artist Platform’ to help showcase up and coming artists from all around the globe.
(www.emergingartistplatform.com/fionagoldthorpe)
Fiona Goldthorpe currently lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa.