Artist, Frances Jansen van Vuuren is still coming down from the excitement of winning the National Art Competition at the Alice Art Gallery on December 4. “I was surprised and excited. It’s always nice to win something,” she began. “When they announced Kim [Paxton]’s name as third, I thought ‘I have no chance now’. It was a very nice surprise.”
Frances has been a painter for 14 years and was over the age of 60 when she decided to focus on art. She did art when she was at school but admitted that life got in the way and she never pursued a career in the arts. “I always thought ‘I don’t want to be on my deathbed and think, why didn’t I ever try?’ “ When her family moved to Weltevreden Park, she found herself at a little art shop at the local shopping centre enquiring about art classes. “I started going for classes and I was so nervous. My teacher started me off with pencil, and then I moved to charcoal and pastels. I was so excited to go into oils and I just fell in love with oils,” she shared. “Oils are very forgiving because you can fix anything that is wrong. With water colour, if you make a mistake it stays.”
She reminisced about her excitement when she sold her first painting. “… in fact I cried,” she laughed. However, she doesn’t paint to make sales. “I paint what I feel and what moves me. It’s more for enjoyment and I have made such lovely friends over last 15 years or so.” There are, of course, some paintings that she doesn’t plan ever to sell because she is so attached to them.
For Fran, as she is affectionately known, painting scenery is her favourite subject, and her walls are decorated with paintings of nature and the outdoors. “I have tried animals but I really enjoy scenery; I paint South African scenery. I have painted a few people but I was nervous doing it because if you don’t get the eyes right then it just doesn’t turn out well.”
She entered this year’s national art competition upon the insistence of her art teacher, Kim Paxton. Under the theme, ‘Candescence’, artists were to show how they reflected light or brightness. Frances’ winning piece was inspired by an old picture of a raging storm. “I am touched by the way it’s been received. It’s nerve-wracking to put your work up for display as you are sort of baring your soul. This win has certainly given me confidence because when you get older you lose your confidence,” she added.
