Elaine Marx owns an Art School in Benoni, near Johannesburg, South Africa. She was born and bred in Benoni, however, she has spent a great deal of her adult life in Kwazulu Natal, in Pinetown, near Durban. Some of Marx’s best memories as a young child, growing up in South Africa, is the smell of a new colouring book and pencils. Several of her family members are artists. During her studies as a teacher, art was her favourite subject.
Marx finds inspiration in people and places, in South Africa and abroad. ” A beautiful place can easily create the urge to put my impression of it on a canvas”, she says. Her preferred medium is oils, and her technique has been developed over the last 30 years, visiting a number of Art Schools after completing her four year teaching studies.
She has had the privilege to study with Rita Wilkes, Voges Meyer, Norbert Schling and Paul Botes. Rembrandt and Claude Monet are her main influences. Marx says that she often tries to analyze the ways in which these artists worked to be able to enhance her own methods.
She is a member of the Benoni Art Route, the Paint and Palette group, the group Artists working together and the Benoni Art Society. In 2008 and 2009, she won a national Art Competition and a regional Art Competition, respectively. In 2014, she received the Vocational award from the Rotary Group of Benoni Aurora. Marx also had 3 of her paintings feature in the South African Artist Magazine Calendar for 2018/2019 Her works are owned by collectors in South Africa, Belgium and New York. A collector of Marx’s work said “I just love my recent purchase; I cannot wait to get home in the evening and find peace while looking at my painting”.
A collector of Marx’s work said “I just love my recent purchase; I cannot wait to get home in the evening and find peace while looking at my painting”.
Marx enjoys travelling around her beautiful country and abroad, specifically Europe, where she finds inspiration in the people, the old buildings and the master’s works at the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay especially. Photography is another love of her life and during her travels; she often collects reference photographs for her paintings.
Marx enjoys teaching Art to adults at her school, but most of her time is allocated in front of her easel. She says ‘I feel close to my Creator when I create’. Her mission is to give the viewer of her artwork the pleasure of belonging or a memory of a familiar place or situation.
I started painting in 1990. Painting and creating is often a means of escaping from the ‘real’ world into a world of colour and texture. At the start of a piece, I am never certain of the outcome, the painting evolves and creates itself into completion. If I am not entirely satisfied with the outcome, I destroy the painting and start again.
I enjoy bringing some of my childhood memories into a painting, and often when I paint, I get a feeling of nostalgia, whether it is a dramatic sky in a landscape, childhood memories of simple living or a musician enjoying the moment.
The open spaces of South African landscapes are a great inspiration. Oil paint is my preferred medium, as it allows freedom of expression. Various techniques such as palette knife or layering can easily be achieved through oil paints.Creating is part of my life and I am grateful for the opportunity of being a full time artist.
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