Nelson Makamo (February 1982) is a South African contemporary visual artist known for portraits often depicting rural South African children. Makamo has exhibited his work internationally, with notable solo shows in cities like Los Angeles, Paris, London, New York and in South Africa. [1] [2]
Makamo was born in Modimolle, Limpopo, South Africa, in February 1982, and his fascination with drawing began in childhood. He studied at the Artist Proof Studio in Johannesburg, where he specialized in printmaking. [3] This institution became a pivotal part of his journey, helping him develop a wide range of techniques, from charcoal sketches to oil and acrylic painting.
Makamo is widely known for his emotive and large-scale portraits, particularly of children, often using vibrant colors and expressive lines. His works are typically created with charcoal, oil paints, and acrylics, and they are celebrated for their depth, texture, and emotional resonance. His focus on children, particularly black children from rural South Africa, is central to his artistic vision. [4]
Makamo was featured on Comedy Central's, The Daily Show by Trevor Noah in 2019. [5]
Jonathan Eastman Johnson was an American painter and co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, with his name inscribed at its entrance. He was best known for his genre paintings, paintings of scenes from everyday life, and his portraits both of everyday people and prominent Americans such as Abraham Lincoln, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His later works often show the influence of the 17th-century Dutch masters, whom he studied in The Hague in the 1850s; he was known as The American Rembrandt in his day.
Anselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Peter Dreher and Horst Antes at the end of the 1960s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac. The poems of Paul Celan have played a role in developing Kiefer's themes of German history and the horrors of the Holocaust, as have the spiritual concepts of Kabbalah.
Gerard Sekoto OIG, was a South African artist and musician. He is recognised as a pioneer of urban black art and social realism. His work was exhibited in Paris, Stockholm, Venice, Washington, and Senegal, as well as in South Africa.
Vladimir Grigoryevich Tretchikoff was an artist whose painting Chinese Girl, popularly known as The Green Lady, is one of the best-selling art prints of the twentieth century.
Painting is a visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, may be used. One who produces paintings is called a painter.
Larry Dell Alexander is an American artist, Christian author and Catechist from Dermott, Arkansas, in Chicot County. Alexander is best known for his creations of elaborate colorful, and black & white "pen and ink" drawings in his "crosshatching", or "hatching" technique, and his acrylic paintings. His works not only depict the African-American experience but also the experiences of people throughout American history itself. He also received notoriety and a personal presidential thanks for his personal rendition of a "Clinton Family Portrait" oil painting which he gave to U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1995. It is now a part of the collection at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is also known for the Arkansas Schools Tours that he did between 1996 and 2006. He has written several bible commentary books on the Christian Bible and in recent years he is better known for his writings and teachings on Christianity
Noria Muelelwa Mabasa is a South African artist renowned for her exceptional woodcarving skills. She's known for her intricate sculptures that often reflect themes of African culture, spirituality, and everyday life. Mabasa's work has been exhibited internationally, and she's considered one of the leading contemporary artists in South Africa. Her journey and dedication to her craft inspire many within and beyond the art world.
Herman "Kofi" Bailey (1931–1981) was an African-American artist. He was best known for his conté and charcoal drawings reflecting of the African-American experience.
Amitabh Mitra is an Indian-born South African physician, poet and artist.
Daler-Rowney Ltd is an English art materials manufacturer based in Bracknell. The company, a subsidiary of conglomerate F.I.L.A. Group, manufactures and commercialises a wide range of artist products such as Acrylic, oil, watercolor, brushes, charcoal, pastel, color pencils, and papers.
Richard Christian Nelson is a portrait and gallery artist from Tryon, North Carolina. He has won numerous national awards and honors, and created over 1000 commissioned oil and charcoal portraits. He is also known for landscape and still life painting. Nelson maintains a studio in Asheville's River Arts District; 362 Depot.
David Fairrington is an American artist. Mostly associated with his realistic portraits, Fairrington paints a variety of subjects including landscapes, still life, and western art in a range of styles including abstract, conceptual, fantasy, figurative, impressionist, pop art and romantic. He attributes artist John Singer Sargent and famed illustrator Norman Rockwell as significant influences in his work.
Mark Strizic was a 20th-century German-born Australian photographer, teacher of photography, and artist. Best known for his architectural and industrial photography, he was also a portraitist of significant Australians, and fine art photographer and painter known for his multimedia mural work.
Jamaal Rolle(born 7 June 1984), also known as "The Celebrity Artist", is a Bahamian visual artist and journalist.
Itshak Jack Holtz was a Polish-born and an Israeli and American Orthodox Jewish painter, who is best known for his paintings and drawings that depict traditional scenes of Jewish life.
Clifford Hall, ROI, NS, was a British painter of street scenes and bohemian life. One of his more recognizable post-war phases was that of people covered to various degrees by a towel or blanket. Some have their faces turned from the viewer or hidden.
Yim Maukun is a Chinese-Taiwanese artist, educator, and author, best known for his realistic yet evocative portraiture, nudes, historical/narrative works, and plein air landscapes. His technical proficiency and artistic achievements encompass a range of media, including oil painting, charcoal, ink, watercolor, and pastels. As part of his many exhibits, Yim's work has been shown at two of the most important and prestigious museums in Taiwan, the Kaoshiung Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei ; he has been featured in dozens of publications, including Rachel Robin Wolf's recent Strokes of Genius: The Best of Drawing series published by North Light Books) and several of the more prominent art magazines and daily newspapers in China and Taiwan. Yim Maukun's instructional painting series has appeared on the Taiwanese networks China TV and Beautiful Life Television.
Chupu Stanley Mathabatha is a South African politician who served as the 4th Premier of Limpopo and is currently serving as a member of South Africa's 7th Parliament, as well as being the Deputy Minister for Land Reform and Rural Development since 3 July 2024. He was elected to the position of premier in July 2013 after the resignation of Cassel Mathale. He was previously a public servant in Limpopo province and from 2012 to 2013 completed a brief stint as a diplomat, serving as South African Ambassador to Ukraine under President Jacob Zuma. He was succeeded by the former Limpopo MEC of Health Phophi Ramathuba on 14 June 2024.
Solomon Omolayo Omogboye is a Nigerian visual artist and painter, based in South Africa. His style involves the combination of mainly charcoal, pastel, acrylic and oil on canvas to depict emotions centred around life.
Graham Nickson is a British artist known for large-scale figurative paintings and drawings. He was born in Knowle Green, United Kingdom. He has lived in New York City since 1976 and he has been Dean of the New York Studio School since 1988, where he developed a "Drawing Marathon," a two-week program of intensive study. Nickson works in oils, acrylics, charcoal, and watercolor.