Behind the scenes

Experience the work in actual size and watch the photo shoot process and development of artworks

Developing of new artworks

Retouching of customer prints

Preparing for model shoots

My dear wife Janine, contributing a large part of the creative process in the practical development and brain storming to making photo shoots work out. Here she is in studio, busy making a garment for our Jesus model to wear.

Delivery of a commissioned work

Painting the Helderberg mountain

One crisp early morning when I took the photo, the sun just peaked over the Hottentots-Holland mountains and illuminated the top part of the Helderberg mountain, leaving the rest still in shadow. I chose to paint it like this with this drama between light and shadow splitting up the work. Here you can see the first brushwork already telling you that story. The focus of my work is painting light and shadow. That is what creates the mood in the work.

The inspiration behind ‘Canal road afternoon’ painting.

On the 6th of August 2021 My father passed away.

He was a man with a large caracter, a beautiful heart and stood out as one of the master sculptors of the human form in his era. Tienie Pritchard needless to say was a big influence and inspiration on my life and art.
During my last conversation on the phone with my dad one evening I told him of this lovely scenic road that Janine and I stumbled on. Telling him that we would love to take him out there and enjoy the scenery along with him and Elna. He responded favorably and said that once he feels a bit stronger he'd love to go...sadly, 2 days later he was gone.. So looking at the photos we took that day, I picked out this scene for a painting. This was my little journey I took through paint, to wave him and his life good bye to this earth. After all, when I started out painting it was him that helped me. And it was often landscapes that he helped me with, and the love for that theme still sits so hi on my heart., painting light and mood, what fun! I really enjoyed doing this one, and how could I ever forget what he taught me and showed me. His dynamic influence he had on my art and life..can not be described in words really..
The painting is called 'Canal road afternoon' it measures 1200 x 500 mm and its oil on canvas.

My late dad the master sculptor, chipping away on a plaster mould in his studio.

See the development of ‘The Last Supper’

This painting was one of my most difficult paintings to create, I worked on it nearly a year. Imagine 12 figures all have to be just right in its setting of light, pose and expression. Look below at the photo of the painting (in an earlier planning stage), see the oil lamp I so much wanted to make work, that I later had to abandon for a more suited one. The same goes for the figure on the very right side, I had to replace. These things take time to think and re-think. That gives you just an idea, as the whole painting ,all the aspects was considered in the same way!

By the way, apart from Jesus, you might count only 10 figures instead of 12. The painting is designed with having the viewer of the artwork seated at the head of the table. Then the other one that is not in view from this angle is covered by the head of Jesus.

Whats behind the painting ‘He suffered for us’

After the experience of my first crucifixion painting called ‘The Victory’ I never ever knew I would end up painting another one.

After the great success and the incredible blessing on us from the Lord through the creation of that work, I saw God talking to me and Janine in multiple forms and ways about representing Him in artwork.

So we ventured into making a collection of works on Jesus, that collection was named ‘The Word became flesh’ . So how could we do a collection of works on Jesus our Messiah and not include the crucifixion. But this time it needed a different angle to express then the first one I painted. So in view of this and staying true to the title of the collection I found a wonderful inspiration from the Israel Museum website. (click on the link later)

http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah

The website will take you to a window that would open and reveal to you, the actual Great Isaiah scroll. (see the screencap below) This is one of the dead sea scrolls.

I decided to blend the text ‘The Word’ into the figure of Jesus.

So I projected the actual text written by the hand of an Essene, 200 years before the birth of Jesus, onto the canvas and to blend ‘The Word’ into the figure hence the title. The text is 2nd temple period Hebrew and the particular section I used was the famous prophetic word of Isaiah 53:5-7

To make all of it work, it was a very difficult painting to paint.

How ‘The Obedience’ painting was created

The river photo session

The concept that inspired the painting was to make the viewer experience the emersion in a real way! So the closest you can be, the better. That means getting right down waist deep in the water. For the sweet moment to be captured,

I wanted it to be during the dunking action. The relation and the trust portrayed was important between the two figures.

Wet clothes and camera equipment

Everything does not just fall in ones lap and photo shoots often reveals a big gap between concept and reality. This particular shoot was done two times before we got the shot. Very thankful to our patient models and set hands that helped make it happen. Our model, Chris has proof here of being baptized about 50 times.

Creating the artwork

This early image of the work shows how I so eagerly wanted to fit in the splendor of the lovely nature all around the scene and also John the baptist. Ending up to be way too busy and the essence of the work having been lost completely. So, the inevitable happened, I cropped the artwork way smaller to fix the focus just on what is important, and yes it worked!

The end result placed the focus on Jesus as He goes down. The water pushing back a natural water crown around His head, beautifully shimmering in the back lighting. Along with His body dropping into the water, creating a natural suction under his fo… — The end result placed the focus on Jesus as He goes down. The water pushing back a natural water crown around His head, beautifully shimmering in the back lighting. Along with His body dropping into the water, creating a natural suction under his fore arm. This an unplanned bonus of the infilling surge of water. Water as a symbol of spirit, thus fitting the objective of the work perfectly.
The actual size of the work (2 m or 78 inches) is giving a life size experience to the viewer as the cinematic feeling of actually being right there on the action of the moment standing in the water.

The Word became flesh opening night video

Painting ‘The Word became flesh’

This painting is the title work to the exhibition ‘The Word Became Flesh’ This pointing to the incredibly powerful scripture from John 1: 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’ Thus declaring that Jesus Christ, the Messiah is actually the whole of scripture of The Holy Bible . The dynamic scale of this threw me into a inspirational torrent that I will be busy with for years!

First layers

This image is telling of the gentle caracter of my savior Jesus Christ. I first build up the face beard and hair to the likeness that I wanted.

Final stage

I then filled the whole face with scriptures of Jesus and what He spoke. I also added scripture references in the hair referring prophetically to Him from the old testament. I did the same in the painting called ‘Everlasting love’

click here for exhibition video

How ‘The Victory’ painting was created

Janine is prepping the model for the shoot with body make-up depicting the bloody lacerations.

The face is covered with dirt and bloody wounds to get the right look.

The hair and the crown is fitted and styled along with the blood on the face.

Her past experience from working as a special effects make up artist in the film industry benefited Janine here, to shape the wounds on the skin. Actually ending up using household products to make it happen and yes, it did come out so authentic.

The depiction of the wounds and the suffering

Jesus Christ was dreadfully struck with a ‘cat with nine tails’ 39 times. This most gruesome instrument ripped His body open repeatedly all over, in a merciless way. We read in Isaiah 52 that he was “marred beyond recognition”. The need to get close to this was important for this work to tell its story. Here you could experience the painting process.

The difficult large scale plotting out of the figure and the first layers goes down. Constant refining and re adjusting the contours until it feels right.

Placement and fitting of skin tone and muscle structures and plotting the light and dark on the figure. The first wounds was introduced.

The reality of the enormous scale of the work had huge gaping wounds. I fitted the sins and diseases that Jesus died for into these wounds.

The painting was done on two canvasses put together for ease of transport, here you can get a dynamic up-close scale experience of the work.

The painting is owned by ‘In Harmonie’ a retreat center on the wine farm ‘La Motte’ outside Franshoek, Western Cape,South Africa. They made the video.