The Mudariki Post

PRESS RELEASE SPI South African National Portrait Award 2013 Top 40 Mukwirikwiri (2013) Acrylic on canvas l am pleased to announce that my portrait "Mukwirikwiri /Foreigner" (Acrylic on Canvas, 100x70cm) was chosen as one of the 40 finalist portraits from a staggering 1 792 adjudicated entries in the first ever National Portrait Award in South Africa sponsored by Sanlam Private Investments.  The award, which aims to celebrate and showcase the best original portrait artwork in South Africa, was announced at a ceremony at the Rust-en-Vrede Art Gallery in Durbanville, Cape Town on 27 August 2013. It is available for sale and part of an exhibition of the selected works to be held at Rust-en-Vrede Gallery until 8 October , whereafter the 40 works will tour South Africa in an exhibition presented in collaboration with the Sanlam Art Collection...

In a corner, l sat with my short pencils l had bought with for my first art lesson, in the amphitheater that was behind Gallery Delta, in Harare. Around me were boys in khaki shorts and shirts, drawing on very large pieces of paper. And in the middle of the amphitheater sat a model to whom they were drawing. That afternoon, before l sat in that corner, l stood next to Greg Shaw, my then new art mentor, who introduced to the students of his afternoon art class and mentioned l was to join them. l enjoyed that day, l drew the model to the best that l could, and at the end of the lesson, all the students would lay their work out for Greg to give us a critic. l didn't do bad, he said. Was proud! This was the structure of all the classes he gave in that year, a critic session at the end. Greg Shaw with his work in progress 'Hondo: (Source - Courtesy of the artist's blog) Greg was assisting these students to prepare them for the art exams at the end of the year. The emp...