Holding back the river I (Framed)

Holding back the river I, 2024

Monotype
22 x 22cm

Laurel Holmes (b. 1964)

The further we move from the natural world, the further we move from knowing ourselves and our place in the world, our connection and relationship with the human and non-human, the less curious we become about this complex interconnected planet we live on. This is largely the premise that much of my work is based on. As a South African artist, my creative work is drawn from a strong attachment to this land, its sense of place and the exeptional diversity of life it supports. A deep love for natural places and solitude, and acknowledgment of their role in spiritual restoration, strongly impacts my work. An interest in the indigenous flora of this country comes from generations of farming, plant propagation and love for the beauty these natural forms offer.

My chosen media are painting and printmaking and recently, more experimental works using mixed media, where a process of layering builds complex, intriguing surfaces. Markmaking, the richness of paint and the beauty of accidental results from allowing spontaneity to find its way into the artmaking process offsets a fascination with detail. My artworks are an intuitive articulation of a response to my environment, informed by the observation of the patterns and order of forms that occur in nature.

In 2012, I left corporate life to concentrate solely on artmaking. Over the years of my creative practice, inspiration and reference has repeatedly been rooted in the Cape landscape, where I now live. My painting training has been with Karin Daymond and Ricky Burnett.

Although working mainly in painting (oils on canvas) and ongoing experimentation with wax encaustic and other media, printmaking came into the mix through a baptismal workshop at The Artists’ Press in 2013, and in 2014/5, workshops with Sharon Sampson Studio and in 2019, two internships at Warren Editions, under the guidance of masterprinter Zhané Warren.

I received an Honours in Fine Art (with distinction) from the Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2021, working in porcelain paper clay, on a body of work titled Weight of loss (which can be seen on the pages Artist Books, Drawing and Ceramics).

I have paintings and print works in private international and local collections as well as in South African corporates.