Peter Bonney Artist
Clarens, Freestate
Go to "PORTFOLIO" or "COLLECTIONS" in the menu list to see my work ... or "NEWS"" if a story or two might interest you.
Message
PETER BONNEY ARTIST BIO:-
Peter Bonney is a South African landscape artist known for his realist paintings of the Karoo and rural South Africa. Working primarily in acrylic on canvas, his work explores the quiet, often overlooked beauty of the South African landscape — from vast open plains and weathered farm buildings to old tractors, sisal plants, and forgotten corners of the platteland.
Based in the Free State, Bonney draws deeply from personal experience, memory, and a lifelong connection to the land. Much of his inspiration comes from time spent travelling the back roads of the Karoo, where the pace slows, the light softens, and the stories seem to sit quietly in the dust.
Although rooted in realism, his paintings are not direct copies of photographs. Rather, they are carefully composed interpretations — shifting elements, adjusting light, and refining detail to better capture the feeling of a place rather than just its appearance.
A recurring theme in Bonney’s work is a sense of nostalgia — a reflection on a South Africa that feels both familiar and slowly fading. Old farmsteads, rusted vehicles, and utilitarian structures become more than subjects; they become markers of time, memory, and lived experience.
His work is held in private collections both locally and internationally, resonating with collectors who feel a connection not only to the landscape itself, but to the stories and emotions it carries.
Through his paintings, Bonney invites the viewer to pause — to look a little longer, and to find something quietly meaningful in the stillness of the South African landscape.
Statement
MY ARTIST STATEMENT:-
I am in love with our beautiful South African Karoo landscape. I live in Clarens in the far away Freestate - in my humble opinion 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. That would mostly be in some of the remote parts of our Karoo landscape. 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 South African 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 rural South Africa. 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!
CLICK HERE FOR MY "PORTFOLIO" or "COLLECTIONS" . Or HERE FOR "NEWS" if a story or two might interest you. Or find these pages in the menu list on this site.
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 him on [email protected] ... or why not just phone on +27829236191