Orange Grove artist draws inspiration from places and events
In efforts to keep the traditional meaning of art alive, an Orange Grove artist uses relatable events, places and people to do so.
A fine artist and drawing teacher based in Orange Grove is passionate about and draws inspiration from local places and events.
Tim Quirke who says he has always done art shared some of his most treasured works and the inspiration behind them. The artist uses oil and paint, charcoal as well as pastel and does a lot of watercolour and gouache paintings.
Quirke has done some wonderful oils and pastels of places which include Radium Beer Hall and Kalahari Books (both in Orange Grove) and the Norwood Market in the park among others.
“When I went to New Zealand in 2009, I just took everything with me and I stayed there for five years. When I came back, I found that everything in Norwood had a totally different flavour. It was more of an open-hearted situation and was like a rebirth to me. I wanted to make some imagery about it and I’ve done some drawings and these pictures reflect something about the new mood,” described Quirke.
He said Radium Beer Hall and Kalahari Books were very atmospheric to him with a special interesting kind of social flavour.
Quirke said the beer hall artwork was done at a time when he was conducting classes and used to take students to the hall on Monday mornings when no one was there. The artwork included a picture of President Cyril Ramaphosa which he had previously taken before he became president.
“A moment in the beer hall reflected that kind of happy society that I was talking about. I also wanted to show a moment when Covid-19 entered the scene and places it spread to.”
For the well-known bookshop, Kalahari Books, Quirke asked the customers and the owner to model for the project and he painted the scene.
“For me, the meaning of the work had to do with just the sheer weight of literature, the whistling and whispering of all those books to each other. At the same time, I included some portraits of Karl Max, Shakespeare and George Washington. In the background are two French poets just to show the spirits of the literature drifting around.”
The artist has also done paintings of Ukraine and also printed cushions with his partner Valerie Fichardt.
Details: Tim Quirke timquirkeart@gmail.com
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