Louise took art as a subject for Matric after which she studied Fine Arts at the Technical College in Pretoria. Her favourite South African artists are Adriaan Boshoff, Sakkie Eloff (under whom she studied at Art School) and Walter Batiss who inspired her abstract art.
After a few solo exhibitions in Pretoria, she moved to Johannesburg where she partnered with two girls from art school and in 1963 held her first large art exhibition at the Mona Lisa Gallery, Joubert Park.
She soon spread her wings however and travelled to Spain, Portugal and Holland to study the art of painting landscapes and drawing cathedrals.
Louise has a passion for painting clouds and skies and identifies strongly with the quote from John Constable (1776 – 1837) -” The sky is a source of light in nature and it governs everything.”
She has painted in many media. Landscapes and skies in oils and acrylics, bright, naïve, joyful African scenes in acrylics. She has also used pastels and watercolours, pencil and charcoal.
Her art has been sold all over the world. By invitation of International Galleries, she exhibited in key cities in the USA and the UK. In 2006 in celebration of World International Women’s Day, again by invitation, her bright African works were displayed at the visual arts conference in Houston. In the past she regularly exhibited at Artists Under the Sun and Artists in the Park (Johannesburg). She currently exhibits annually at Art in the Shade at Mthunzini.
In 2006, after the death of her husband of 30 years, her life changed drastically. Art became her refuge. He had become, after her mother, her inspiration and advisor, always spurring her on. Louise moved to Wakkerstroom, where 18 years later, in spite of deteriorating eyesight, her studio is still her sanctuary. No longer able to paint the fine detail she loves, her paintings are now larger with vibrant, bold colours and beautiful dramatic skies which are still her passion.
