Swifts Fine Art              Abstract Realism

SWIFT’S PERSPECTIVE ON ROCK ART IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

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These writings are from notes, thoughts and observations made while researching the paintings in caves in the vicinity of Dordrecht, Rhodes, Fish River, Lesotho and Drakensburg.

 

The motive behind this series of paintings was purely to understand the first Southern African artists through my own experiences of their art.

 

The drawings between 1984 and 1990 are all made on site in whatever caves I found myself in, both midwinter in the snow and midsummer in the heat.

 

The writings were first started in 1984 on site and are a personal reflection, not intended for any academic purpose at all.

 

The 1984 research drawings were drawn directly with water colours while the crevices and cracks in the rocks that were related to the images were done with a 2B pencil.

 

The 1990 research drawings were done directly with Polychromos pencil crayons and 2B pencils with a deeper awareness of the rock surface itself as a subject, together with the imposed images.

 

After many winding diversions my actual paintings on hardboard, oil paint with sand textures were eventually done in 1998 and are a celebration of my insight and knowledge of the artists’ secrets.