Corli knew from a very young age that she wanted to paint. There were no dreams of being a fireman or a princess. From day one, it was art all the way.
After completing her fine arts degree at TUT and specializing in textile design, she committed herself to both these fields, seamlessly intertwining her textile design business with her fine art painting.
Today she is a Land- and Seascape artist residing in Pretoria, who finds inspiration for her art in the South African landscape.
“South Africa is home to such expressive and beautiful landscapes, it’s impossible not to be inspired by it.”
She works in oil as this gives her a richness of colour through a technique called glazing.
Art Class: Glazing techniques in oil painting are when you apply a transparent layer of paint over another dried layer of paint. It is similar to placing a sheet of coloured transparent acetate over a monochrome photograph. When glazing in oils you apply multiple layers and each layer affects the final oil painting.
Although her work could be said to fall within the genre of realism, she leans into the emotive, expressionistic side of painting.
“I use intricate brush work to create texture to achieve more depth in colour which adds to the emotively expressive nature of the painting.”
She invites the viewer to experience their own interpretation of her work.
“I consider the artwork successful if there is a connection between the emotional content I tried to achieve and the viewer.”
Through her exceptional skill and technical prowess, she focuses heavily on cloud formation and exploring the power of nature to evoke fierce emotions within the viewer.
Corli’s work is influenced by various artists
“Mark Rothko for his use of colour, the application thereof and the relationship between colour and emotion as well as contemporary landscape artists like April Gornik and Vija Celmins.”
She believes in developing and evolving her art, exploring new emotions and intensifying the experience of the viewer.
“In my latest work I have added a lot of texture on the underpainting before starting on the sea or landscape. In the work What Lies Beneath the texture comes through but is still subtle. This represents the hurt or emotional scars that people carry with them.”
Her paintings become a window for introspection
Corli believes that art is for everyone. Art should be accessible and even the smallest, dullest spaces deserve to be enlightened by original artworks.
“I want art to be more than just a pretty picture. Yes I still want it to be a beautiful painting that can be appreciated for the artistic value that you can hang in your house and enjoy for the Landscape or Seascape that it is. But I also want it to be an emotional journey.”
Her art remains relevant as time goes by, and grows with the viewer – it is universal, emotive and inspiring. It invites you to explore deeper emotions and connections as you spend more time in the presence of a Corli Slabbert creation.
