Matthys captures life through art

Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday March 5, 2021 15:48

The  artist does portraits predominantly and her desire is to capture the essence of the person in their live state. In an interview with Arts & Culture, she explained that she aims to create an artwork that could be used to remember people’s the personality even after they have long passed on. The talented visual artist was born and bred in Rappelspan in the Kgalagadi.

Just like many artists out there, Matthys pointed out that art chose her. She explained that she was pulled towards aesthetics because she likes beautiful things.  “Currently, I’m working with coloured pencil on paper, charcoal on paper, oil paints on wood and sometimes on canvas. Oil painting on wood is my favourite. I did art throughout my formal education, from junior secondary through senior secondary. I went on to study for a Diploma in Secondary Education {Art}  at Molepolole College of Education. I have been teaching Art for 16 years, but I only started practising it actively in 2020. I knew how to draw, but only started learning painting in 2020,” she revealed. She also said that she loves all of her work adding that her masterpieces stand out because she managed to successfully use the medium intended for it.  Matthys further stated that the general public seems to have embraced her work because she gets positive reviews about it. Matthys highlighted that as she grows in her craft, she may broaden her themes to embrace emerging issues. She also said she currently does individual commissions since she does not have a stall where her work is exhibited. Apart from her online art page, Matthys is the modern-day Cinderella. Having never participated in any exhibition yet, she is just waiting to be discovered.

Just like other artists in the creative industry, this artist faces some challenges. She emphasised that her biggest challenge is that the art industry in Botswana is yet to be appreciated. She added that their nation was not vested in global trends, since art is valued elsewhere. She also stated that artworks have to be under-priced in order to make sale.

As a newbie in practising art, she said she was yet to achieve major recognition for her work.

Going forward, Matthys also noted that it was her desire to be one of the recognised artists both locally and internationally. And Arts and Culture totally agrees.