Everything she paints is unique, functional and above all colourful.
Northcliff-based sculptor Dalene Oosthuysen exhibited her ceramic art at Isabella’s on 10 and 11 September.
Oosthuysen’s canvases are plates, sideplates, and vases, and she embellishes these with bright landscapes, townscapes, animals, modern art, flowers and people.
“I get bored easily, so everything I do is new, and I never repeat a picture,” Oosthuysen says, sipping at an exquisitely patterned tea cup in this Northcliff restaurant as patrons browse her vibrant works.
Ceramic painting is her passion. “I paint for myself. I get inspired by other artists, by photographs and by nature, but everything I paint comes out of my head, I never copy.”
It took her a while to find her niche. She used to paint on canvas, but after 20 years of living in Northcliff and raising a family, she switched to the less competitive ceramic market. And she loves it.
“People always say you have to hurry and find your niche. My advice to aspiring artists and to anyone in any industry is that living your dream takes time. Don’t give up, and keep going, and you’ll find what’s right for you.”
Her potter is Kathy Bignam of Kaybee Ceramics; Kathy sculpts, and Dalene paints her visions on the sculptures. And her family and friends support her wholeheartedly.
“I wouldn’t be able to do this without them. And my heart swells with happiness when I visit a friend’s beach house or home and see one of my works on their walls.”
*Oosthuysen is currently exhibiting some of her work at The Art Window in Clearwater Mall and at Alice Art Gallery, Ruimsig.
