Artists bio
Gabrielle born on the 15th of January 1985 in Johannesburg south Africa. At an early age was introduced in the main stream art market by her father who is an art dealer. Being exposed to top South African artists such Adriaan Boshoff, Marie Vermeulen Breedt, and Errol Boyle. Her young eyes absorbed the variety of art South Africa had to offer as new art entered her father’s storeroom to be sold on auctions and a deep passion developed and a lifelong love for art began.
Gabrielles early art career
At school Gabrielle’s art stood out from the rest and at the age of 15 she sold her very first artwork to her English teacher which was a sure sign that art was going to be her career in the future. She was awarded the certificate of most promising art student in high school. On weekends you would find Gabrielle painting in her bedroom on canvas, and eventually she painted her entire bedroom with mushrooms and flowers, she was already at that age disappearing into a world of art and indeed stood out from her peers. She began writing poetry and painting for her own personal escape and used these mediums as an outlet of expression through her teenage years.
Roodepoort Art College
Gabrielle enrolled into Roodepoort Art College in 2002, and for the first time was surrounded by other likeminded talented pupils, she thrived in this environment and enjoyed developing her skills in drawing and painting. Here the foundation was laid in training and she spends two years learning the basic skills she would need to further her career as a professional artist.
This time in her life was very happy and carefree, she had slotted in well amongst her peers. The continual practice of drawing and painting allowed her to become very good at sketching with pencil and pen and charcoal. She began to sketch tasteful nudes for her father which were sold on auction across south Africa.
Career after college
After Gabrielle finished college she took time to travel abroad, she returned to Scotland the place her mother was born and in that time lived in Glasgow. At that stage Gabrielle was not pursuing a career in art and was looking for any work that was available, lapping up the environment and surroundings which were so different the South African terrain, she in this time did not create artworks, however the medium she turned to was poetry.
After spending sometime in Scotland she travelled to Portugal, where she then started painting again the Algarve which was place of inspiration for her. The country in its beauty had captivated her and the Portuguese emblem of the chicken surfaced in many artworks of hers as she embraced the culture and the people. She then later returned to south Africa. Where she got married and had her daughter.
The birth of her daughter
The birth of her in 2008 was a milestone in Gabrielle’s life and career. She had with her husband at the time opened an Art gallery in Rustenburg, despite the success of their business they decided to part ways. During her marriage Gabrielle did not produce many artworks and this was a dry spell in her career. The time surrounding the birth and early years of childhood were the stormiest of Gabrielle’s life and in that she turned to poetry and the artworks produced were of a “darker” nature. The failing of her marriage became a well from which she drew incredible inspiration and the love and passion for her child became the drive forward to not give up and make a success out of her life and for her child. Battling depression she hurtled on forward and the art became once again a place of escape and ultimately put food on the table and if you ask her in person Gabrielle will tell you ‘ art is my bread, for the soul and in life’. After her marriage ended, she had to find a way to support herself and her daughter financially and art was the only sustainable way to provide an income, however the art market had also changed because there was a recession worldwide, and so she had to provide the market with more affordable lines of art. She developed different lines of flowers and landscapes and made her own frames up cycling items which people would call junk and she sold these on auction and privately.
Inflences, style, mediums
Gabrielle is extremely versatile as an artist and can paint in oil, acrylic and gauche. She sketches in ink, pencil and charcoal. She has changed and developed her style over the years and can range from wildlife to still lives, portraits and frescos and murals, on board canvas, even furniture.
She has worked with marketers which place bulk orders of certain lines and can paint up to 30 artworks a month and deliver a quality product on time.
She is a leading artist of her generation and her versatility gives her the edge above the rest. She has worked with interior decorators and been commissioned to do work on very tight deadlines and the finished product has been one that has wowed and amazed clients. She has become an expert at antiquing furniture to create a country French look and combines her skills of fine art to create furniture pieces or a unique nature.
Her inspiration comes from impressionist artists and her paintwork leans towards impressionism, however her sketches take on photo realism with incredible detail.
In essence Gabrielle can paint just about anything with a flare which is her own and is a must have for any Art Gallery.
