Painting titled "070g.jpg" by Jeni Smithies, Original Artwork, Acrylic

070g.jpg (2013) Painting by Jeni Smithies

Not For Sale

Sold by Jeni Smithies

Certificate of Authenticity included

This artwork appears in 3 collections

Original Artwork Painting, Acrylic / Oil on Canvas

Artworks classification

Original Artwork

Original Artwork refers to any work that is considered authentic and not a copy or imitation of the original works of an artist. Original artwork can be any type of painting, sculpture, performance, or other media. There are many types of original media. Mixed media includes oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings. For workshop paintings that bear evidence of master craftsmanship, this attribution must be further qualified. While they may be less valuable for different reasons, reproductions and copies have had a tremendous impact on our experience. They reach a greater audience than originals and act as a tonic against commodification. Original Artwork could also refer to the first work, which is always preceding all others. It could also refer to a prototype or a model from which other works can be made. Each work bears great similarities to the original.
Dimensions Height 11.4in, Width 17.7in
Categories Paintings under $1,000 Figurative

Gemsbok Duel. About this artwork: Classification, Techniques & Styles Acrylic Paint using traditional pigments mixed with synthetic resins.

Jeni Smithies

South Africa

I was born in the wilds of Zambia, Africa in 1960 to parents who lived for adventure and I grew to love and respect wildlife. We later moved to South Africa where I began a career in the transport industry. After many years and four children, I decided to give up my job and pursue my dreams. One was to paint murals and trompe l'oeil, which I did as a very successful business for 10 years, travelling all over South Africa. These images can be seen on my other Art Majeur site - Kunda Kamwali Art. I was commissioned to do a painting for Jacob Zuma, which I considered an honour and an absolute achievement in my art career. I then studied to be a field guide and bought a farm, where we farmed cattle and chickens. I qualified as a field guide with distinctions and although I will never use it as an employment opportunity, it gave me more insight into the wildlife that I so adore. I battled cancer for two years and we decided to sell the farm and take early retirement.

I now live next to the Addo Elephant Park and spend a lot of time photographing and documenting wildlife, which I then use to create my paintings. My main objective with each painting is to capture the very spirit and essence of these incredibly special animals and have been told that their eyes reveal their souls in my paintings.

It is an honour to reproduce the photographs that I have the pleasure of taking and I hope that the results are just as much a pleasure to behold by the people who purchase my art.

One lifetime is largely insufficient for me to achieve everything I’d like to! I run almost everywhere I go, my mind racing days ahead of me as I plan the next joyous life experience. I am driven by my African spirit to capture the intrinsic beauty of our wildlife on canvas; believing naively perhaps, that in doing so, I will instil in the viewer the objective of joining me in saving the animal kingdom from destruction by the human race.

My abstracts, likewise, are inspired by the beauty of the earth and its gems - an iridescent spectral conundrum, colliding gloriously in colourful play with the glittery aventurescence caused by metallic inclusions. Could there be anything more stunningly beautiful? I like to paint alone. Just me, the canvas and my music.

My studies as a Field Guide, through Africa Nature Training, have given me a deeper understanding of my subjects, as has my upbringing in the wilds of Zambia. To sit quietly, watching elephants frolic at the waterholes, or the crazy antics of warthog young. This is when I am still. At one with nature. I dream my dream….. follow my heart….. imagine….. listen to the wind….. drink sunsets….. create adventure and wish on every star. I do it my way.