Sharing My Journey Of Madiba’s Portrait

Sharing my journey of Madiba’s portrait . . .

Two and a half months ago I was commissioned to paint Tata Madiba. My brief was it must be 1 x 1 meter, and ‘we want to feel his vibe’.

This was surely one of the biggest challenges I have had as an artist, because I did not train as a portrait painter.

It was surely  also one of the most incredible journeys I have ever had, and it took over two and a half months to complete, and the medium I used was oil.

The vibe of Tata is on the walls of my studio forever.

On completion I made the appointment for the final handing over, but twice the arrangement was cancelled and over the next three weeks we had to reschedule. Life is weird and wonderful, because finally, when we arrived at the agreed date which was the 5^th of December, I handed the painting of Madiba over at 18.30 that evening. Literally a few hours later I heard the sad news that Tata Madiba had passed away.

What an honour for me and great privilege to experience this journey with Tata, every day I would greet him in the morning when I went into my studio (which is, where I live in Vermont) and we would talk all day long as I went through the process of trying to capture the beauty of this wonderful soul. This incredible and magical experience I know I will never have again. And the vibe of Tata is on the walls of my studio forever.

– on behalf of Maeve Dewar