This week we talk to talented Abu Dhabi-based South African artist Elwin Buchel
Describe your painting style.
It is expressionistic and relies on the use of colour and imagination. The creative process at its best is intuitive and uninhibited.
What do you paint?
Anything that attracts or inspires me. My subjects include the view over the Corniche, cricket games, musicians on the Corniche, and my impression of what Kate and William’s visit to Abu Dhabi would be like.
Mostly I work using acrylic. Because I paint in the apartment and my studio space is confined to half of the lounge I have to be a little sensitive to my wife’s well-developed sense of order. My favourite medium is oil.
Who is your favourite artist?
It is the Indian artist M F Husain. After provoking the wrath of his home country, he was recognised by the Qatari ruling family who gave him residency. He never expressed resentment and remained creative and a gentleman all his life; I admire his freedom of spirit and his creative genius.
What is the best thing about being an artist?
The privilege of embarking on an endless artistic journey while actually never leaving the studio. If you paint regularly, then you eventually enter a fantasy world and it becomes even more exciting because you realise that you are tapping into an inner creativity you never knew about.
Which piece of art are you most proud of?
Usually I like the first work of a new theme, if it succeeds it is very satisfying. It sometimes happens in an artist’s life that he is inspired and if on that special day, he happens to be holding a paintbrush or a piece of charcoal, then he may create a picture that truly rises above the rest.
Work daily and be grateful if your children like it and say, “Great Dad, can I have it?”
Buchel’s studio is open to visitors on Friday mornings from 10am to 2pm. To be added to Buchel’s mailing list or for more information contact: 050 445 5536 or 050 731 2892. Paintings cost from AED 400 to AED 12,500.
