IRMA DE WAAL lives and works as a fulltime artist in the Wilderness, Southern Cape. She completed her BA FINE ARTS Degree at the University of Stellenbosch in 1975, majoring in the Art of Painting and the History of Art.

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Irma is from Africa and therefore shares the rhythm and the pulse of the people and the warmth and the vibrancy of the colours that is so unique to this continent.

 

“Using colours and shapes, I do not wish to depict a realistic image of my subject, but rather create a feeling of nostalgia and remembrance.”  

 

Her source of inspiration reflects in the magnitude of the outstretched landscapes of our country – from the abandoned farmhouses in the Free State to the white- washed fisherman’s cottages all along the coastline of the Western Cape.

 

The houses and buildings of the Malay Quarters in Cape Town and the colourful structures and homes from several informal settlements are also challenging concepts she loves to paint.

 

More recently Irma’s interest in the humbling magic of the Karoo became prominent in her paintings. The sense of space and silence amongst the craggy hills of the Karoo landscape drew Irma’s attention to the small towns or “dorpies”, where the original Settler’s architecture and a distinctly “Karoo” way of life inspired her work in a charming fashion.

 

Irma’s unique ability to paint these landscapes often includes the sensitive presence of individuals involved in their daily activities that is prominent to the area on which the painting focuses.

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She paints in a modern-abstract way; elongating and distorting the perspective of buildings and subjects to slanted forms and angles with fine lines that reminds of architectural drawings.

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Irma uses oil paints on high quality stretched canvas, applying the paint with bold brush strokes and palette-knives.