Lush, rich colours swirled onto a canvas to create moody, dramatic depth. Ballito designer and artist Caitlyn van Niekerk finds calm and relaxation in producing her artwork.
“Colours inspire me. I love watching the chemistry happen with each pour, making each piece unique and different,” says 30-year-old Caitlyn.
Drawing her inspiration from the gentle flow of deep blues, greens and gold paints on canvas and incorporating slabs of wood for added texture and dimension, Caitlyn’s work is bold, interesting and very unique.
Her one-of-a-kind pieces are reminiscent of the ocean, with its different dimensions and depths, the constantly moving and changing sand and the sky, painted with fluffy clouds.
According to Caitlyn her love for art and design started in high school when she used to spend as much time in the art classroom as possible. After school she pursued a career in makeup artistry and is now the makeup artist at WOW! Studios in Ballito. She is also a designer and project manager at specialised cutting and bespoke furniture design company, WOW Cutting.
“I’ve always had a love of artistic and interior creations. I first discovered a love for colour in a makeup store at a very young age, jumping from the pigment colour stand to colourful lipsticks with great excitement!”
Caitlyn started CVN Artistic Design started last year and since then it has evolved from small to larger canvases to nesting tables and geodes as commissioned pieces.
“I was inspired by a course I attended in acrylic and resin pouring. Each design has beautiful detailing of either crystal gems, stained glass, gold or silver leaf layering and lacing to create layers, interest and character in each piece of art.”
Allowing the art to ‘channel through her’, Caitlyn says she simply lets the paint choose its own direction. Her family business WOW Cutting creates custom made furniture and Caitlyn often designs items for her own house. “My sister would often ask me to recreate pieces for her and then her friends would ask as well . . . it’s really just a passion that has grown into a business. I try to paint at least once a week, depending on how busy life it. And, as the mother of a busy two-and-a-half-year-old, Caitlyn says it can be quite busy. Her art, she says, allows her to ‘escape from being me’, bringing her calm and relaxation for which she is very grateful.
“My hope is that my paintings evoke feelings when people look at them. I am so deeply honoured when I get commissioned to paint a piece or when someone buys a piece of my work and I hope it brings the new owner as much joy as it brought me.” Caitlyn’s pieces are available via Décor Royale Ballito at the Ballito Junction, the sole distributor of her artwork in Ballito.
Details: www.facebook.com/cvnartisticdesign
Text and photographs: Monique De Villiers-Delport
