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Contact Info
+27 82 218 1906
Pretoria South Africa
lena@lenahugo.com
“...with that delicious color, that is the grayi “...with that delicious color, that is the grayist blue, the bluest gray in the world. The color itself looks thirst-quenching, as though it were an elixir that could be drunk off...” -Rebecca Solnit, The atmosphere that surrounds solid bodies from “As Eve said to the snake”- a collection of essays on landscape, gender, and art. Thank you @alice.adele.buckley for giving me this wonderful book, which I read like some people read the Bible - opening it at random places, some evenings before I go to bed, expecting to find a beautiful message -and I always do. “The Cause” detail of the upper half of the work, which shows part of the volume of clouds pressing down on my tree, my “The Tree”. Is the volume reaching up into all eternity not also immensely important in some landscapes? For the recent group exhibition “Eve Song” curated by @sue.clark.art 168cm x 62cm Pastel on sandpaper laid down on board #eve #thefirstwoman #pastelart #creationmyths #thetreeofknowledge #pastellandscape #clouds #chalkpastel #hardpastel #softpastel
#pastelportrait #chalkpastel #pastelart #hardpaste #pastelportrait #chalkpastel #pastelart #hardpastel #softpastel
The Swartberg mountains have always had a strong a The Swartberg mountains have always had a strong attraction for me since childhood, when my parents once, almost by accident, drove over the pass on their way to visit my grandparents, and later on my own as an adult when driving through the poort, I absolutely fell in love with it. It has been a while since I properly had a good look at the towering rocks flanking the meandering road, called Meiringspoort. In 2024 I approached from the Willomore side only to get stuck in an immense mud pool, from which I had to be extracted by tractor (kind assistance from locals who saw me from a distance drive in at the one end - the pool was surrounded by bushes- and failed to see me drive out at the other end), and by then it was too dark to appreciate the poort while driving to and finally reaching my accommodation just outside de Rust. This year I drove through a torrent wrestling with the rocks and confined to the poort, as in a boxing ring, on my way to KKNK arts festival. I barely made it out and the only things I remember was the fog lights of the car in front of me, white nothingness, like I could drive over the edge of the world at any moment and fear of falling rocks, a rising river and a seizing car. People who doddled or pulled off to ‘let it pass’ had to be airlifted out by helicopter! There is a river running through it and the river rose. I want to see that gorge and those mighty towering rocks again, now that the modern road is totally destroyed. The old rocks, likewise eaten away by that treacherous river over billions of years leaving the rocks remaining: pinnacles marked like with wrinkles and scars on a very old or weather beaten face. #meiringspoort #pastelart #chalkpastel #pastelportrait #rivergorge #softpastel #hardpastel
I couldn’t imagine Eve’s story without a tree I couldn’t imagine Eve’s story without a tree and gave THE tree the whole of my attention. After all, it was a one of a kind, and I wonder what ever happened to it after everything was done and the dust settled. Don’t miss the last week of the group exhibition “Eve Song” at 2-1 gallery, University of Pretoria. The exhibition will run until Thursday 13 August. To make access to the University grounds easier, please send your details (name, cell phone number, email address and date of visit to rsvp.upstudentgallery@gmail.com for an access code, the day before your planned visit. There will also be an interactive art performance on 12 August at 6pm, with Ailyn Nienaber (soprano), Maryke Swanepoel (pianist) and Allen Laing (performance artist & carpenter) Please RSVP for this event also at rsvp.upstudentgallery@gmail.com Come earlier, from around 4:30pm on the 12th and join us for a glass of wine and some of the participating artists informally discussing their work. Thanks @sue.clark.art for your wild dream and untiring enthusiasm. This thing has grown colossal! The Cause 168cm x 62cm Pastel on sandpaper laid down on board #creationstory #creationmyths #eve #ourmother #woman #pastelart #treeportrait #chalkpastel #hardpastel #softpastel
Without an office routine, these days creep up unt Without an office routine, these days creep up unto one all too suddenly. I forgot that woman’s day was actually yesterday and not today, because the holiday shifts to a Monday when it falls on a Sunday and confuses a mind, to which holidays do not really apply anyway. So, Happy woman’s day yesterday to all my fellow women and to myself! I worked until the evening, to finish a commission and only then realised that I may have given myself a little slack. I’m lying, I never take woman’s day off. But I’ll spend some time loving my garden today which will be ample reward for my soul. #womansday #workingwomen #pastelportraits #chalkpastel #hardpastel #softpastel
Miner II 170cm x 84cm Pastel on board 2010 #worke Miner II 170cm x 84cm Pastel on board 2010 #worker #miner #mineworker #pastelart #pastelportrait #chalkpastel #hardpastel #softpastel
Eliphantidae 21cm x 93cm Pastel #chalkpastel #pas Eliphantidae 21cm x 93cm Pastel #chalkpastel #pastelart #elephant #bushscape
Just felt like drawing something pretty. Happy Fri Just felt like drawing something pretty. Happy Friday! #pasteldrawing #horseportraits #babyhorse #chalkpastel #hardpastel #softpastel
In my previous post I revisited some of my persona In my previous post I revisited some of my personal most cherished working portraits that I made over the years. In my portraits I aim to move beyond realism: to portray, if possible, the character underneath a person’s skin. The closer I look, the more mesmerised I become by the transparentness of skin and the suggestion of the many layers of form and meaning that lies underneath, weaving each scar and imperfection into my people’s stories - imaginary or true. It may be that I make people appear older, or more ‘lived’ than what they really are. By the end of a portrait, I feel like I have a relationship with the person portrayed and I care deeply about them. Here are a closer look at those same 5 artworks in the same sequence. #workers #pastelportraits #chalkpastel #beyondrealism #pastelart #migrantworkers #pasteldrawings #hardpastels #softpastels #portraitart
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Contact Info
+27 82 218 1906
Pretoria South Africa
lena@lenahugo.com

Copyright Lena Hugo