BIOGRAPHY

Anthony is a self-taught artist who grew up in South Africa during the apartheid era.  Raised by an artistic mother, Anthony developed a strong attraction to nature and the outdoors.  As a teenager, his fascination with the creative process and his adoration for wildlife inspired simple black and white bird sketches.  Soon his artistic exploration led him to draw landscapes and trees.  Each illustration preserved a personal connection to the scenery that he loved. Despite Anthony’s creative curiosity, he went directly into the plumbing trade out of necessity as there were minimal career opportunities in the fields of conservation and wildlife management at the time.  After completing formal training, he operated a successful plumbing business for several years before leaving South Africa out of safety concerns and a yearning to broaden his horizons.  He immigrated to Ireland and immediately began missing his South African homeland.  But Anthony’s tenacious desire to revisit his childhood and strengthen his connection to South Africa inspired him to paint his first work.  His creation of a lone man standing on a hill under a tree and looking out to an expansive landscape gave him enough of a spark to pursue his craft.  After two years living in a tiny apartment in Dublin, Anthony, his wife, and one daughter immigrated to Oklahoma with virtually nothing.  Anthony used his plumbing skills to start another business and build a new life quickly.  Soon after, his love for his homeland and his artistic cravings lured him back in front of the canvas, where he painted landscapes, mountains, sunsets, and sunrises.  Inspired by careful daily observations, Anthony uses each painting to explore cherished childhood and young adult memory through a setting from his past.  The juxtaposition between the splendor of his native land and the truth that most children living under the apartheid regime could not experience this beauty, in the same way, create a deeply personal creation. He hopes his paintings offer a glimpse into the world that others couldn’t see and personify the beauty he was fortunate to witness.  Presently, Anthony runs his successful plumbing and property development business full time and spends his evenings and weekends using his art as an escape to revisit his past frequently.  Even though each of his creations makes him miss South Africa dearly, he hopes that others will find the same joy in his work that he experiences painting it.

ARTIST INSIGHTS

How are your background and life experiences connected to your art?

My art focuses on the exploration of my past through my present existence.  I paint settings that reimagine my childhood memories in a manner inspired by an observation today.  

Who are some of your biggest artistic influences?

I don’t feel I have specific artistic influences.  However, I did develop a fascination for South African artist Adriaan Boshoff. I always thought we had a similar story.  He was an electrician, and I, a plumber.  We were both tradespeople and self-taught artists. He mainly worked in oil and painted landscapes, seascapes, and still-life in an impressionistic style.  I enjoy painting landscapes, so I feel we share similar interests.  My grandmother owned a Boshoff still life of orange daisies that I inherited.  Unfortunately, we had to sell the painting to help cover immigration costs to Ireland.  I’m still looking for that painting on auction sites in the hope of one day being able to own it once again.

How have you developed your artist career?

My artistic career developed from a curiosity to rediscover my past through inspired creation. I never set out to be a notable artist.  I intended to simply use paint to relax and escape the humdrum of the day.  I paint during my downtime on the weekends or sometimes in the evening.  It is a leisurely and exploratory process that brings me tremendous joy.  I find now that the more time goes by, the more I long to carve out time to create. Painting provides a life balance that grounds me and releases ideas in my mind to face the week ahead.

What does your artistic work intend to communicate to its audience?

My work is deeply personal to me.  In the purest sense, my work interprets a glimpse into my personal history inspired by a present connection with an object, image, person, or experience.

Does your work comment on any current social or political issues?

My work doesn’t attempt to make any comments on current social or political issues.  But I am cognizant of those who endured and suffered the unbearable conditions in South Africa when I grew up.

Do you have a particular story that stands out from your career as an artist?

The first painting I ever produced inspired a life-long love to create art.  I was living alone in Ireland at the time, in a tiny bedsit room, while my wife and daughter had left for the USA to begin our immigration process to here and get things set up for me to join them. My other daughter had remained in South Africa at that time. I was lonely and desperately homesick, and life outside in the dead of winter was always cloudy, raining, and miserable.  I had an idea in my head for a simple painting of a man under a tree looking out at a vast landscape in the daylight.  I carried the idea in my head for a short while before I convinced myself that I could do it. However, once I painted the piece, I realized I could take ideas from my mind and bring them to life on the canvas.  The modest painting sparked a creative curiosity that still motivates me today.

What is one thing you would like your audience to know about you?

I would like my audience to know that I’m a self-taught artist that is not seeking attention. I create art because it connects me to the important places and experiences in my life. Remnants of an African childhood swirl around in the backwaters and crevices of my mind. They spontaneously make their journey into consciousness and onto the canvas: the landscapes, the people, and the sunsets.

Which current art world trends are you following?

Lately, I’ve noticed that a lot more people are purchasing oversized abstract paintings, and I feel the landscapes I create with sunrise and sunset lighting could work very well in a larger format. So, I’ve started experimenting with the new size and style to see how my concepts translate.

Why have you chosen to sell your work in the 1515 Lincoln Gallery?

Pure chance and circumstance are the reasons my work is in 1515 Lincoln Gallery.  I’ve completed plumbing work for Susan in the past and told her that I painted. One day I asked if she would review my work, and she gladly took a look.  After seeing a number of my paintings, she asked if I would be interested in selling a few pieces in her gallery.  I am thrilled that such a kind and genuine person represents my work.

What do you believe makes 1515 Lincoln Gallery distinct from other galleries?

1515 Lincoln Gallery has an authentic, unpretentious, and relaxed atmosphere that makes it stand out from other art galleries. Susan is warm and welcoming, is kind, and genuinely cares for the artists and their work, and she creates connections, so you grow as an artist.     

ARTIST STATEMENT

I paint to escape the weight of the day and to revisit childhood memories.  I create from my relationship to daily observations that I connect with settings from my past.  I thrive off the creative process from thought to canvas and fixate on realizing my mind’s vision of the perfect balance between the present inspiration and times past.  Even though my work is personal, I do not feel the work is about me. Instead, I intend for my paintings to foster a deep connection and provoke a lasting emotional reaction in the viewer.  I hope people who view my art experience the same joy I feel creating it.

anthony steYns’S AVAILABLE ART

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