Life in Works
A look into my personal journey during the making of these projects over the past 5 years.
Self Sacrifice
February 2020 – May 2020
In January of 2020 I made the decision to move from my home city of Pretoria to the
Western Cape. Growing up with my grandparents, it had been their lifelong dream to move to the Cape, where my grandmother was born. While my grandfather was no longer with us, my grandmother and I finally made the journey together. I was at the beginning of my art career and a junior tattoo artist with a handful of clients.
Leaving Pretoria meant leaving behind my family, lifelong friends, and a growing client base. But it also meant I had a better opportunity to pursue fine art as a career as the Cape has a thriving art industry with much stronger prospects. Life as I knew it would change dramatically with this move.
We made the two-day journey across the country and settled into our new home in
Franschhoek, a charming historical town in the Cape Winelands with panoramic mountain views and sunsets that were spectacularly different from what I was used to in Pretoria. Quickly settling in, I could focus on starting my very first graphite drawing in Franschhoek and what I now see as the piece that debuted my career.
It was during the making of this piece that the world went into lockdown and my plans to join a tattoo studio were firmly put on hold. While I had hoped to secure a position for myself as a tattoo artist in the Cape fairly quickly, those hopes were now, temporarily, shelved. On the bright side, it meant that I had more time to dedicate to my drawings without distraction.
I had a lot of time to reflect on the life I left behind in order to pursue this career and felt it only appropriate to name this drawing ‘Self Sacrifice’.
Hummingbird
June 2020 – September 2020
Amidst the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic in 2020, I found myself in the beautiful Franschhoek surrounded by blossoming Proteas and sunbirds enjoying their nectar. Having moved from Pretoria in the beginning of the year, I was using the shutdown of the country as an opportunity to explore my natural surroundings and the beauty that Franschhoek had to offer. But just as the winter brought with it grey skies and heavy rain, I too was facing an internal wintering.
As a junior tattoo artist new in the area, no tattoo studio was willing to take me on due to the uncertain climate we were facing. As a result, I was left with no prospects and a growing concern for the decision I made to move across the country to unfamiliar territory. Close inspection of this piece will reveal the mental state I was in while drawing. Graphite pencils should be applied gently to paper to avoid shiny reflections. I was working quite aggressively in some places as my predicament weighed heavy on my mind. I was considering moving back to Pretoria where my old mentor held a space for me to tattoo in his studio. However, he encouraged me to be patient and stay the course.
As a last-ditch effort to get my name out there, I used my only remaining funds to sponsor this drawing on Instagram. Had nothing come of it, I would have made the journey back home. Thankfully, through some divine intervention, my post reached an enthusiastic fellow artist who had just opened his own tattoo studio in Somerset West. He was looking for equally enthusiastic young artists to join him. And so, a new door opened for me and launched a journey I won’t soon forget. It was the first time I felt that a career in fine art and tattooing was really viable for me. It would be my first opportunity to make money in nearly a year.
In 2020, I put myself under immense pressure to prove to myself and my family that I could make a career out of art.
Walk by faith
January 2021 – June 2021
Starting the year fresh and ready to leave the trials of the pandemic behind, I set out to
challenge myself with a new graphite drawing that would be my biggest sketch yet. I had joined a new tattoo studio opened a few months earlier in Somerset West.
I was excited to be part of a new team, helping to establish the name of the studio and
building the business from the ground up. The only catch was that I would be driving from Franschhoek to Somerset West every day, a two hour round trip. This was only made possible by my grandmother, who agreed to sponsor my petrol while I found my feet. Without her, I doubt I would’ve gotten very far on this journey. Being a startup, the new studio had few clients to begin with, and I had a lot of free time
between tattoos to work on my graphite drawing. My new partner in the business was not only an accomplished tattoo artist, but an avid painter and sculptor. I was fortunate to learn valuable tips and techniques from his experience, and we spent many of our days exchanging creative ideas.
Those early days in Somerset West shaped me as an artist as I grew my skill and improved my understanding of principles not only in fine art but tattooing as well. This progress felt immensely important to me, as I had come from a troubled youth and wanted to prove myself as a focused young artist willing to walk the path to find success.
With the studio being so new and business growing at a snail’s pace, I had no way of
knowing whether it would pan out. I was starting over after moving to the Cape from Pretoria and had no choice but to trust in my faith and follow the road I was being led down. Not being able to see ahead, I had to ‘Walk by Faith’.
Life in art
January 2023 – June 2023
In the winter of 2022 heavy storms in Franschhoek led to the damage of a drawing I spent the better part of a year working on. Unfortunately, it meant I had to scrap the piece as it was irreparable. I’m not ashamed to admit that I took it personally and it was a while before I felt I could take on a new project.
At the same time, my business partner and I decided to move our tattoo studio from
Somerset West to Stellenbosch. The move positioned us in a better area for our clients, and I spent most of my time tattooing, thus taking some of my time away from working on my drawings.
I decided to start this project at the beginning of 2023, as the tattoo studio had gained a bit of stability and the business was beginning to grow. It was during this time that the country experienced a spike in loadshedding, and we were left without electricity for an average of 8 hours a day.
I was tattooing during the day and working on the drawing by torchlight at night. It was infuriating and the reason why this project took 7 months to complete. At the same time, I stepped into a bigger role in the business as my partner was spearheading a new branch of the studio in Pretoria. I took great enjoyment in this role and spent much of my time growing the skills of our tattoo apprentices and building a strong team. I felt more relaxed and was taking a breath after tough times.
It was in the middle of this project that the Pretoria studio closed, and we decided it was best to focus on growing the studio in Stellenbosch. Unfortunately, this created a dynamic shift in our team, and we began to encounter a communication breakdown. We lost two of our best apprentices and I personally lost two of my closest friends. It remains one of my biggest personal lessons and, while painful, has shaped my character. This piece was the last project I did in graphite on paper.
Find your own path
July 2023 – November 2023
While I didn’t know it at the time, this project serves as a catalyst for where I am today. After experiencing a challenge that led to a major shift in the tattoo studio I co-owned at the time, I began working on this painting.
This was the first painting I made after deciding to lay down my graphite pencils and pick up the paint brush, marking a shift in my art medium as well.
I was wrestling with big changes and toying with the idea of moving on from the tattoo studio to start my own venture. These were only the sparks of an idea and wouldn’t develop further until over a year later. The challenges we faced in our business had jolted me awake and I was no longer on autopilot.
Towards the end of this project, I decided to get a companion for the rescue puppy I adopted at the end of 2022. He was a rescue that survived the floods in Franschhoek. He cracked his hip bone during the ordeal and his injuries proved quite challenging, as I didn’t have much experience with dogs. His recovery to strength happened alongside my own.
Aim
December 2023 – June 2024
I began work on this painting just as repairs started on my home in Franschhoek after the floods of winter 2023. The floods had done a number on the roof in the garage and work was necessary to fix the damage. Unfortunately, the canvas of my painting served as collateral damage to the movement in the house as it was bumped and fell onto the back of a chair. Luckily the dent in the canvas was small enough and I was able to continue the project.
Perhaps it was a foreshadowing of what was to come.
That December, there was an incident. I had welcomed a new member to the family only two months earlier, a puppy who was rescued from the floods. I discovered he was quite reactive to strangers, likely due to the trauma of the storm, when he bit a passerby on a hiking trail in the estate where I lived.
This put me in a difficult position as the estate no longer allowed him on the premises. It meant that I would have to move. On the one hand, moving into my own apartment was exciting, as I was living with my grandmother and had never lived on my own before. On the other hand, I wasn’t quite as prepared as I would have liked to be. Luckily, I wouldn’t be completely alone, as my life partner would be moving with me.
Shortly after moving house, I acquired a small studio with my business partner and fellow artist, where we could paint without being interrupted by the goings on of the tattoo studio.
I was beginning to sell more of my pieces and was starting to think seriously about having my own studio and slowly moving away from tattooing.
As it stood, I was struggling to balance my time between finishing my paintings and
tattooing. I knew I would be faced with choosing one or the other in the coming future.
Rebirth
June 2024 – September 2024
The original idea for this piece was started in graphite pencil in 2021. After nearly a year of work, it was damaged in heavy storms and had to be abandoned. Now, a few years later, I decided to return to it.
I’m not usually one to redo concepts or return to failed projects, but I was at a time in my life where I wanted to challenge myself with oil on canvas after pivoting from graphite pencils.
The reference for this project was very technical, and at the time, it would be the biggest piece I’ve ever made before.
While working on this painting, I was approached by an art agent who wanted to work with me exclusively to further my career. Having no experience in the industry, I, of course, agreed. Almost immediately she introduced me to a gallery owner in Cape Town who accepted a few my pieces to showcase in a group exhibition.
It was my first big opportunity to gain exposure in the art scene in Cape Town. It was also my first lesson in taking caution in who I allow close to me. Demanding more of my time, this agent began isolating me from my friends and valued collectors. It was something I haven’t experienced before, and it became clear that this association was not good for me or my career.
I made the tough decision to cut ties with her and risked the relationship with the gallery in Cape Town. Luckily, they saw value in my work and wanted to keep my pieces in the exhibition. The decision had left me bewildered as I now had to mend a few relationships and realised it was getting more difficult to find a balance between tattooing and painting.
I managed to finish this piece in record time, despite everything happening in the
background.
Blossoming Kinship
September 2024 – February 2025
This piece was a collaboration between myself and a talented crochet artist, Canzonette Malherbe, who created the headpiece for this painting.
The months during the making of this painting marks one of the most challenging times I have faced in the past 5 years. As the year was ending, my business partner and I were facing many internal issues in our tattoo studio and concluded that we had to close the business.
We were faced with the question of what came next and had no clear path to take. We
discussed many possibilities and drew up many plans. At the same time, the apartment my partner and I were renting was sold to new owners, and we received the news that our lease would be up in the new year.
Having two dogs, we knew finding a pet friendly apartment in Stellenbosch wouldn’t be easy.
I was at a crossroads in my life and decided to step away from my business partnership.
This was a decision I struggled with for quite some time.
Stepping away from the familiar, I found myself without a plan and out of time. Needing to regroup and come up with a new plan, I moved back to Franschhoek to my grandmother’s house. But it meant that there was a problem. Because of an incident the year before, the estate would not allow our reactive dog back on the premises. It meant we would have to give him up.
This decision was a defining time in my life and left me heartbroken. Finishing this painting in Franschhoek was a full circle moment for me. I was back to square one where I started this journey 5 years ago. At my grandmother’s house with no job and no prospects.
Rooikat
September 2024 – February 2025
After closing the tattoo studio and stepping away from my business partnership, I packed up my life and moved back to my grandmother’s house in Franschhoek.
While pondering my next move and recovering from my losses, I made this piece using only the materials I had on hand. The backboard of a frame that long since lost its glass, leftover wall paint from renovations done on the house, and my remaining tubes of oil paint.
It was the experimental first piece of my next series.
Gemini
March 2025
With this piece came the first breakthrough of my career. I got the opportunity to open my own studio gallery in Dorp Street, Stellenbosch. The dream I had slowly cultivated in my mind would finally become a living, breathing reality. Over the previous 4 years I moved from Pretoria to Franschhoek, made it through a pandemic, opened and built up a tattoo studio, only to close it again 4 years later, and faced many personal challenges along the way. While I was still processing the events of the last year, I was finding a quiet strength in knowing I could now make art on my own terms.
Past Present Future
April 2025
I had the opportunity to open my own gallery earlier in the year. In the process of setting up the gallery I began work on this painting. Mentally I was unpacking the events of the past 5 years and all the challenges I had to overcome.
Simultaneously, I was facing an uncertain future while trying to stay grounded in the present.
In times of uncertainty, I throw myself into my work. There is a lot that’s out of my control, but one thing I can control is what I put into my work.
Golden Strength
April 2025
I started this painting when I opened my studio gallery in Stellenbosch. I was blessed to be able to begin this pivotal journey with the help of one of my biggest supporters and a longtime collector. Opening the gallery was the start of a new path for me after closing my tattoo studio the year before. I knew it was going to be hard work, but I had to ‘take the bull by the horns.’
Baboon
May 2025
After opening my studio gallery and spending more time working on projects, I began to feel the effects of isolation that comes with spending a lot of time alone in a space. I was used to working in a team, where there was always someone to rely on for a coffee chat or to give advice.
Now I had only myself and perhaps the odd visitor coming to see the gallery from time to time. I was slowly building something strong, and it felt immensely rewarding, but it was a lonely journey nonetheless.
Hope Endures
May 2025
Although opening my own studio gallery earlier this year was a very rewarding experience, I still had my doubts and fears about being able to make a success out of it. Having closed my tattoo studio the year before, I realised what a difference having a good team surrounding you makes.
I found the strength to endure and resurface my hope for the future while painting this piece.
I had a good support system in the people who believe in me. I still found myself able to ask for advice and my hope endures.
Soetkoekies
June 2025 – September 2025
Having moved from Franschhoek back to Stellenbosch, I started work on this piece in my new apartment. I had a feeling of fresh vigor and a relief to be back in my own space after moving to my grandmother’s house again when I decided to close my tattoo studio.
I was on back stable footing and busily filling the walls of my new studio gallery. This piece marked the beginning of a series in a new style. I wanted to develop a style that blended my background in tattoo artistry with hyper realism.
I found consistency both in my art career and my personal life. It was the first painting sold in the gallery right after it was completed. Receiving multiple offers for this piece served as confirmation that this style struck a good balance between my own preferences and what my collectors enjoy.
Give to Create
September 2025 – November 2025
While painting this piece, I made the decision to completely step away from tattooing. This decision had been a long time coming and it was time to let go of that part of my life. Being a tattoo artist shaped my early career, and I wanted to incorporate it into my art going forward.
Deciding to put all my effort into fine art is daunting, and I have given so much of myself to this journey already. But it means I have much to give still. I have received the first fruits of my labour and look forward to all that still lays in store for me.