Annalene, the artist

Gallery

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Annalene Lindeque works at the George office of Group Editors, which owns the Mossel Bay Advertiser.

Besides being a consummate senior graphic and layout designer, she is also an artist and takes commissions. The layout of the Advertiser's snazzy front pages especially, is the work of Annalene.

PHOTO GALLERY: Annalene Lindeque's work of art

What else does your work involve?

I, along with my fellow designers, are responsible for the look and layout of the newspapers, adverts, features and supplements in the Group Editors stable.

When did you become interested in art?

My dad had a few creative bones that he passed on to me.

He never followed art as a career, but he sparked my interest in art.

He and his six brothers could all draw well. My dad showed me how to draw a horse when I was a little girl. He grew up on their family farm in Zambia.

In high school I did art as a subject. At Pretoria University I studied graphic design. Computers were still a new concept, so we had a basic year of fine arts and then from the second year, did the design section, but we had to do everything by hand as computers and design on a computer were only implemented at university after I dropped out halfway into my third year.

Has your career always been creative?

I worked at a small design studio for two years, followed by 11 years as a facial reconstruction artist (identikits) with the police in Port Elizabeth first and then George, which basically guided me into an interest in portraiture. In the time with the police I was sent on courses including a scull reconstruction course at the anthropology department at TUKS.

I loved it. I never got to reconstruct a skull in the field though. I also scuba dived with the SAPS social club and went through a phase of drawing and painting the beautiful marine life I encountered. Some of my cases involved interviewing rape victims, some very young children and women, other times reconstructing faces from unidentified corpses. It was hard not to be touched by the trauma of some of my cases and I decided to get away from it all and travel for a few years.

What did you do next?

I au paired in the UK, USA, Australia and Switzerland and holidayed in Egypt, the Caymans, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. I did a few Maasai drawings after encountering these amazing, beautiful people.

In my time as a nanny I got involved with some of the schools the kids went to. In England I did the school's play (Grease) decor and took life drawing classes on weekends.

In the USA I did oil painting classes at a community college and helped the kids with their art projects. I always tried to carry on with my art wherever I was. After four years I returned to SA and my hometown, Mbombela (Nelspruit), found a job at an exclusive lodge in Sabi Sands, where the very close encounters with our amazing wildlife inspired a phase of drawing and painting leopard, lion and elephant.

Malaria cut that experience short and I decided to try my hand at murals and living off selling my paintings at the "Innibos" festival until I figured out what I wanted to do next.

I responded to an ad for a graphic designer at the local newspaper (Lowveld Media in the Caxton Group, of which Group Editors is a part) and even though I didn't have any experience on computer or any of the design programmes, I took my art portfolio and was selected to be one of six new designers they appointed.

In the past 15 years I've had a creative job that challenged me differently from my art. It was also a way to express my creative side. Some art and design components overlap and I realised each could make me better at the other.

Although I love being a designer, I know in my heart I'm an artist and will hopefully one day find my place as a confident fulltime artist.

What is your favourite medium?

Charcoal and graphite on paper or canvas and ballpoint pen when doing portraits. But, I get bored easily and then dabble in acrylics or oils in between commissions.

You decorated your flat yourself?

Yes, I try hard for a minimalistic appearance. Clutter makes me feel overwhelmed and out of control. Well, it doesn't always work, but I'm getting better at it.

Each room has one focus wall that is, will be, painted a strong colour. I've always rented places and promised myself that once I have my own place I would paint it whatever colour I wanted. And with the wall comes the art I like to display, either from places I visited or which I painted myself. Most of them are my own drawings or paintings.

I like to enter challenges with South Cape Association for Visual Artists (SCAVA) and lately, World Association Of Artists (WAA), and when I get my artworks back I hang them on my walls.

I also love second-hand and charity shops. Most of the stuff in my home is preloved. In the end, I must love my home, my safe space when I close my door at night.

Your sense of art and design is lived out in your dress sense as well.

Shoes. I love shoes and feel they can change an outfit from bland to very interesting. I've torn ligaments with some of the platforms I wore. I like interesting shoes and jewellery pieces, combined with things I discover in a second hand shop, bazaar, market or shopping online. I don't plan outfits. They fall into place as I get dressed in the morning or before an event.

Do you sometimes work with other artists?

I have the ability to procrastinate (a lot) or I feel creatively blocked, so then I enjoy doing a class with other artists and creatives and trying new styles or media to get the juices flowing, but most of the time I prefer to work on my own.

Tell us about your commissions?

I work from a clear photograph or two of the person or pet. I like getting a bit of background on the person or pet to add something special to the portrait, such as a toy or a favourite tie or earrings, if the client wants that.