surreal painting by south african artist pieter van tonder titled 'dances on words'

Dances on Words

Words are not empty symbols. A kind word can heal and uplift the spirit. The same tongue can leave a scar deeper than a daggers’. Size: 76 x 60cm | Oil on Canvas | SOLD

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surreal painting by south african artist pieter van tonder titled 'the first step'

The First Step

Size: 120 x 100cm | Oil on Canvas | SOLD This original painting is for sale! Price: ZAR 14000 Most of us resonate with the wisdom to seize the moment and to live each day […]

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Cherub

Size: 120 x 100cm | Oil on Canvas | SOLD Do angelic beings dwell among us? This idea sprang from a dream and I could not resist the temptation to depict a cherub in a […]

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The walls are filling…

I had the good fortune to be commissioned to paint seven huge canvasses for a hotel restaurant in Cape Town. I started working on the first drafts at the end of September 2013 and currently […]

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surreal painting by south african artist pieter van tonder titled 'behind the veil 1'

Alternative Reality

A lot can be uttered on this topic. This painting explores the mystery of why two, related, transient beings, often observe a shared reality to have different confines.

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Current Works in Progress

One of the most effective ways to maintain a relatively objective eye in the creation of an original work of art, is to work on a few at the same time and thus to rotate […]

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surreal painting by south african artist pieter van tonder titled 'little boat of hope'

Little Boat of Hope

Throughout the early years of my wandering as an artist, when I did a lot of work in pencil and ink, a little rowboat like this often featured. It was never the main object. Always just a subtle presence.

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surreal painting by south african artist pieter van tonder titled 'the seventh day'

The Seventh Day

This painting is purely a tribute to the vastness of our beautiful world and its Maker. Painted in 2009, this was the first canvas of this size in my career. At the same time I crossed a new threshold: Sufficient command of skill to eliminate tension in the execution. I could relax, and the vast landscape could just flow straight from imagination and the unconscious.

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surreal painting by south african artist pieter van tonder titled 'gravity'

Gravity

I can never contemplate Adam and Eve and the tree of knowledge without Newton. Don’t we all gravitate towards the apple, the question, the why, in much the same way as we cling to earth. And what’s wrong with seeking our own truth?

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