Peter Parrish, an artist who was born in South Africa but moved to America when he was only seven years old, puts a lot of work into making his paintings look as real as photographs.
The 30-year-old mainly focuses on portraits but has recently also started doing realistic wildlife paintings.
Peter told Herald that he started painting when he was thirteen while still in middle school. “At 13 I also received my first award,” he said.
He has spent almost half of his life in America with his family.
His father is an Anglican priest and they moved to America because of his missionary work when Peter was still very young. When he was sixteen he got a scholarship to study art at Laguna College of Art & Design in California.
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“I was one of the top students in my class, I passed with flying colours,” he said.
Peter says he looks up to the living master Lance Richlin. He is originally from the Eastern Cape in Grahamstown but currently resides in Tzaneen.
He came back to South Africa in 2010 and he has been in the Eastern Cape between 2010 and 2019 before coming to Tzaneen.
He co-owns Saffron Art Studio Gallery in Douglas Street with his business partner, Belinda Schulze.
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“I came back to South Africa because I felt like I had lost touch with my roots, I had also developed a strange accent,” he said.
He also told Herald that he felt like he did not fit in with his peers in America.
Peter teaches adult learners on a full-time basis at Merensky High School and focuses on his art after work and weekends.
“Coming to Tzaneen has been life-changing, the people here are friendly and have been supporting my artwork. I like the fact that I am closer to art theatres and museums than in the Eastern Cape,” he said.
Peter said it takes him approximately two to five days to complete a painting depending on the size, texture, and details of the painting.
He also teaches painting to children from age seven upwards.
“Classes for children requires patience, it takes a lot longer to teach a child who is only starting out.”
Saffron Art Studio Gallery is still new and will officially open on 17 June.
His paintings start from R5000, and to see more of his work and to get in touch with him visit his Facebook page, Peter Parrish Fine Art.
