Thea Darlow Artist
Inspired by landscapes, trees, and rural African scenes, Thea’s works draw from photos, memories, and sketches……
Thea’s art is shaped by her childhood on a Zimbabwean farm, born in Gwanda, Matabeleland.
Thea’s artistic practice is a gentle unfolding of memory and place, rooted in the sacred landscapes of Southern Africa, from the whispering boulders of Matobo Hills to the watchful Lions Head in Cape Town. Her deep reverence for natural forms, colours and textures echo daily life within the rhythms and seasons.
Her evolving expressionistic style is guided by intuition and emotion, working primarily in watercolors or oil paints on canvas and paper.
Thea’s work is a quiet dialogue between past and present, self and society – a tender exploration of identity and transformation. She believes that art should stir the soul, invite reflection and nurture connection beyond the boundaries of canvas and paper.
For over 35 years, Thea has lived and painted in Cape Town, where her work has been represented by several art galleries across South Africa.
Thea says...
” I have recently returned to Zimbabwe to continue my creative journey and to explore new paths in art therapy, weaving healing and expression into my practice”
My references are derived from photographs, memory, sketches and notes.
My Zimbabwean inspired art and paintings include references to the magnificent Matobo Hills, an ancient, spectacular concentration of natural rocky outcrops (kopjes) which include monumental, naturally formed columns of perfectly balanced domes and balancing blocks of granite.
For me, these monolithic ancient forms evoke a sense of Feminine, Divine. They remind me of powerful African Mothers standing custodians of this space.
Matopos has a sense of the ‘Ancients’. The profound sense of mysticism and spirituality of tribes long passed. Proof of their existence and rituals thousands of years ago in preserved paintings on many secret cave walls.
I have the privilege of visiting the Matobo Hills and National Park
every time I go back to Zimbabwe to visit my family and friends.
Currently I have found myself painting views of Lions Head and the Stony Pine trees that grow on the slopes of this dramatic backdrop to the city of Cape Town.
These tall exposed trees growing on the slopes bending in unison against the elements which include the strong infamous South Easter Wind!
At the foot of these trees, I have a sense of standing inside a cathedral, looking up at the interwoven canopies with the tracery evoking stained glass windows and the geometric angles of the way I paint trees is clearly a nod to Pierneef.
I have painted and created art for most of my life.