Artists - Paintings

Mary Jane Alexander

oil on canvas

Mary Jane Alexander was born in Zimbabwe and lectured in anatomy and life drawing at the Bulawayo Art College. In 1977 she moved to UK, where she became Head of Art at the Elmhurst Ballet School. Ballet and movement remain her first love and this shows in the theatrical lines of her paintings. Mary Jane excels at figurative drawing, and in her loose and languid style she aptly captures the lithe and long-limbed beauty of her female subjects. Likewise her landscapes are loose and inviting, drawing in the viewer, up hill and down dale, through a riot of colour and untamed nature.

Arthur Azevedo

pastels, pen & ink on paper

Arthur Azevedo was born in Harare in 1935 and studied in Cape Town and Italy before returning to Zimbabwe to become an art teacher in 1960’s. Since then, he has taught, painted and sculpted full-time for five decades and is now considered to be the leading light in the Harare art world. He is rightly attributed with founding the scrap metal sculpture movement and his retrospective at the National Gallery 10 years ago can now be regarded as premature, as he keeps on breaking new ground, epitomised by his latest show at Gallery Delta at the end of last year.

Lin Barrie

acrylic & pencil on paper

Lin Barrie is an accomplished wildlife artist who graduated from Fine Art College and worked in textiles before turning to drawing and painting full time. Lin lives in the vast wilderness of Save Valley Conservancy in the south east of Zimbabwe, on a granite kopje at Senuko Safari Lodge. Whilst she loves all nature, birds and wildlife, African Wild Dogs are her passion. The Conservancy has worked hard to protect this endangered species, and for the last ten years Lin has had the privilege of being able to study and paint the breeding packs. Lin spends many hours at the dens, observing and recalling their characteristics, and follows the dogs when they hunt at dawn and dusk. Lin only works from nature and thus totally captures the spontaneity and realism of her subject.

Pauline Battigelli

mixed media on paper

Born in Mutare, Pauline Battigelli is well-known and loved in art circles in Zimbabwe, despite the fact she now lives in Italy, to where she and her famous photographer husband, Ilo the Pirate, retired, before his death in 2009. She studied art and theatre design in London in 50’s, and over the subsequent years frequently exhibited in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mocambique, France, Italy and UK. Pauline’s latest work has again been inspired by the country of her birth on her recent visit there last year, when she was reminded first hand of it’s people, colour and warmth.

Jane Digby

oil on canvas

South African artist, Jane Digby, was born in Grahamstown in 1968. Still living up the east coast of South Africa, Jane is inspired by the country and its people. “I usually paint from my own photographic references and experiences; in that way I always feel a connection with the subject. My paintings are spontaneous, I let the mood of the painting take me, the paint and brushes take charge. Whilst I do paint a variety of subjects, portraits are my most rewarding and challenging.  I yearn to capture the essence of the African people, expressing through my art their dignity, pride and hardships. All my paintings are about depth of light, texture and colour but most importantly depth of character and emotion. Each portrait asks one to ponder over the thoughts of the character; each landscape makes one wonder over the nature of the day”. Jane paints quickly and spontaneously; her subject matter depending on the mood of the moment. “When a painting is going well it takes me off to another place; it is that feeling that keeps me painting”.

Linchen Kirchner

mixed media on paper

Linchen was born in Johannesburg, South Africa into a very artistic and musical family. Her childhood holidays were spent in wild, unspoilt parts of the country and from this exposure Linchen developed a very caring and passionate feel for beautiful, natural places. Linchen’s work captures the different aspects of nature from vast open landscapes to detailed bird and botanical studies and quirky African scenes. Her work is painted and created using different mediums and styles best suited to capturing her love of nature and art. In her spare time, Linchen travels to the wildest, most sacred places on this planet. She hikes, plays the piano and guitar, and loves animals, gardening and cooking. Her work hangs in many private collections around the world, and she has exhibited in London and South Africa.

Nadia Kisseleva

mixed media on canvas

Nadia Kisseleva was born in Voronesh, an ancient city in the heart of Russia. She has been formally trained at the Ryazan College of Art; the Academy of Art in Leningrad; the University of Central England in Birmingham, and the Wimbledon School of Art, and is now an Associate Member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. She now lives between Kenya and Austria and has become a leading member of the Nairobi art scene. She is also now developing larger, modern landscape work for the European market. Richness of colour and layers of texture define her work, and her continuous quest for progress ensures a fresh approach and an exciting modern appeal.

Karen Laurence

oils on canvas and watercolours on paper

Born in Uganda, Karen Laurence had a nomadic childhood and experienced Africa in the early sixties; unspoilt and teeming with game. After leaving school in Zimbabwe, Karen went to SA to study Graphic Design and work in advertising before the pull of her early roots drew her back to East Africa. She returned with her family to live in Kenya, and began to concentrate on fine art, inspired by the wonderful light for which Kenya is well known. Karen is a versatile artist, adept at landscapes, figurative work and wildlife, and she is represented by galleries in New York and Wyoming, USA, and in London and Cornwall, UK. She has also now opened her own gallery in Nairobi.

Marion Martin

oil on canvas

Marion Martin lives in York, but Africa is her passion. She has sketched and painted in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia and South Africa and “every trip leaves me longing to return again as soon as I can. Africa excites and stimulates the senses with its heat and light and rich vibrant colours; its huge sweeping vistas and vast skies; its scents and sounds and the incredible variety of wild life; and, not least, the warmth and generosity of the people.” In 2001, Marion completed her Visual Arts Degree course at Cheltenham Art College, and since then she has partaken in numerous group exhibitions in UK, as well as held two solo exhibitions in York in 2004.

Elva Palombo

acrylic and oil on paper

Elva Palombo came to Zimbabwe as a child from Scotland and had no formal art training. Self-taught, she took part in numerous group and one-woman shows before moving to Cape Town nine years ago. There she has made a big impression on the art world, and she is now a regular exhibitor at shows around the Peninsula. Elva works in a multitude of media. Wildlife is her focal point, but she often mixes abstraction with realism. She incorporates strong elements of design and is inspired by natural and man-made imagery she sees around her.

Willa Pitcher

oil on board

Willa Pitcher’s art career did not get off to a promising start, as she ruefully recalls being thrown out of the art class at the Harare convent for being a disruptive influence!
After the tragic death of her farmer husband in the Rhodesian war, Willa moved to Harare and from 1983 had art lessons with Ann Lindsell-Stewart for a few years. She also studied figure drawing with Rose West and watercolours with Martin van der Spuy
and Rose Trewatha.
Since then she has partaken in numerous group exhibitions In Zimbabwe, and has two lined up for this year, at the Wingate Club and the Verandah Gallery.

Wendy Rosselli

signed print on canvas

Born and educated in Johannesburg, Wendy Roselli continued her art studies at St Martin’s in London, before settling in Zimbabwe in the late 50’s. For the next four decades she exhibited regularly at the National Gallery, winning awards for merit and distinction and being selected for public and private collections worldwide. In 2003, Wendy returned to SA and now lives and paints in the artist paradise of Kommetjie on the western peninsular of the Cape. She mainly works in oils, and through her subtle palette she plays with the use of light, colour and space to great effect. Shoreline and seagulls are her new inspiration, but her famed baobabs from her years up country are in her blood and she is known to be the best arboreal artist in the Cape.

Sheena Chadwick

oil on canvas

Sheena Chadwick arrived in Zimbabwe from Scotland in 1963 and has been teaching and painting there ever since. She is now regarded as one the best artists in the country today. Sheena usually paints landscapes in oils and she aptly portrays the rich earthy tones of Africa, with its big skies, wide horizons, immense trees and open spaces. Always painting from life, Sheena travels all over southern Africa to capture the unsurpassable vistas, wildlife and light.