Art in a time of lockdown
At a time when some creatives felt as if the muse had totally deserted them, local artist, Charmé Southey took up her brushes with renewed energy.
Although she is best known for her delicate watercolours and subjects drawn from nature, she decided to use the time to explore other mediums and new techniques. So while she continued to sketch the world around her, she also decided to play around with abstract art, using mainly acrylics – perhaps in pursuit of freedom in a time of constraint.
In May there was a call from the South African Society of Artists (SASA) for the submission of works for an online exhibition in any style, any medium, with Lockdown as the theme. Charmé took up the challenge, producing an abstract work called ‘Emotions of Lockdown’ in acrylic on board. She says, “I was happy with the piece and thought it might have a chance of a mention, but I was stunned when I received notification at the end of July that it had been chosen as the overall winner.”
More evidence that the women of Hermanus are top of their class, whatever they choose to do. Our warm congratulations go to Charmé for this prestigious award (and a shout-out for including The Village NEWS masthead in her painting!).