Peter Bonney
Clarens, Freestate
Go to "PORTFOLIO" or "COLLECTIONS" in my menu list on this site to see what I'm up to ... or "NEWS" if a story or two might interest you.
MessagePETER BONNEY BIO:-
Peter Bonney was born in the Strand in the Western Cape but his formative years were in Kwa Zula Natal. Initially in Bergville a small country town in the Northern Drakensberg area of South Africa, and then in Durban where he matriculated from Durban Boys High School in 1970.
As much as Peter loved his art at school, and matriculated with art as one of his major subjects, he didn't ever study art post matric. Instead he studied chemistry and moved up the corporate ladder in the polyurethanes industry. After ten years he eventually came to terms with the fact that, in that industry, and in the corporate world, he was your typical "square peg in round hole". In 1981 he leapt off the corporate ladder to follow his heart... painting!!
Circumstances lead him to Chris Crake of the Crake Gallery in Johannesburg. Crake "put him on the map" so to speak. His art career took off and his enigmatic Karoo landscapes, in his unique realist style, soon became popular among private and corporate collectors alike. He hasn't looked back since!
Sadly, in 2012 Crake passed away. The Crake Gallery closed and Peter was picked up by Cherie De Villiers of Cherie De Villiers gallery, which has become his primary outlet. He also sells his own work from his Clarens studio gallery.
Statement
MY ARTIST STATEMENT:-
I am in love with our beautiful country despite all of it's many troubles and woes. I live in Clarens in the far away Freestate - definitely the best place in all the world to live and work and have your being.
I count my blessings daily!
I do realism so good reference is important to me. Photography is a tool that we have in this day and age so I use it... to gather and record material, inspiration and ideas from wherever I travel. I am an artist though, not a walking camera - so my goal is to go beyond the photograph with my paintings. In fact very few are copies of an individual photograph, but generally are more of an imaginary scene comprising real elements from different photos, composited together to create a unique composition, depicting the atmosphere, and mood and more especially... the story of an area in the landscape rather than a mechanically reproduced scene in the landscape.
My heart is to portray the heart and soul, not to mention, the elusive mystery of our stunning landscape. Not to simply create a replica of an image. I do my best to make use of light, composition, texture, mood and content to do just that.
I love to travel in the far reaches of our great Karroo, with its big sky, big space, amazing quiet, and more especially... rapidly decaying and disappearing life and culture... and that's what I seek to portray in my paintings.
The peace… the mood… the atmosphere… the charm… the colour… the wind… the dust… and most importantly of course… the story!
Go to PORTFOLIO or "COLLECTIONS" in my menu list on this site to see what I'm up to. Or "NEWS" if a story or two might interest you.
A lot of what I do these days is by way of bespoke commission so if you're interested in going that route feel free to email me on [email protected] ... or why not just phone on +27829236476
My work is held on consignment at Cherie De Villiers Gallery in Johannesburg. Click HERE to see my page on Cherie De Villiers Gallery