Hi, my name is Estelle and I am a professional portrait artist living in beautiful Somerset West near Cape Town at the foot of the magnificent Hottentots Holland Mountain range.
I have been painting professionally for nearly ten years and love painting any subject – landscapes, animals and still life but I especially love painting portraits of people and their pets.
Animal Portraits
I have always loved dogs and I share my life with a collie mixed-breed called Nicci who is my constant studio companion. She as well as my sweet little Snippy (who has sadly passed over) have been the subject of many of my studies. I enjoy the process of capturing that special essence and personality as well as the beauty of the animal and bringing it to life on paper or canvass. I have recently also had the pleasure of doing the individual portraits of a family of cats in coloured pencil and pastels. I found them very interesting as subject material since cats have personalities of their own that are unique and I loved capturing their different moods.
Painting People
When it comes to painting portraits of people I found I have a distinctive style in the way I use colour to portray the essence of the subject. I also paint or draw from vintage photographs (like the one to the left) to re-capture the moment it was taken regardless of the condition of the photograph and prefer to do these either in pastels, graphite or colored pencils. I really love the way the skin tones reflect the light and those subtle changes of light and dark.
Wildlife
I particularly love painting wildlife, endeavouring to capture their essence and mood as they inhabit their own world, especially our wonderful African wildlife – full of raw nature and surviving in spite of human interference. I am passionate about preserving their habitats and ensuring their continued survival for future generations.
Land- and Seascapes
The beauty of the African landscape, whether in the mountains, desert or shorelines of South Africa has a mesmerising quality. Those quaint little villages established by pioneers also have their own charm and capturing history in a modern landscape is really special.
The Mediums I work with
I work in oils, pastels, coloured pencils, graphite and charcoal and use the finest grade archival materials, lightfast pigments and archival paper and canvases. All drawings are mounted for easier shipping and handling and are ready for framing, however canvasses are unframed.
Coming Soon! Teaching what I’ve learned!
New to my world is teaching others to do what I do. If you have ever wanted to learn to draw or paint your own pet or family member, I will have mini tutorials on YouTube. However, I if you are interested in long-form in-depth tutorials, these will be available here on my website soon.
Commissions
To find out how you can go about having a commission done, go to the Commissions Page and follow the links.