Capturing The Inner Light

“As a child I always loved creating things whether with pencil, paint, fabric or clay. I loved art, dance, music, plays and poetry and eventually decided to pursue my love of literature and graduated with Honours in English, going on to teach”... JUDITH SCHÄFER chats

- Judith Schafer

One day, six years ago, Judith went out and bought a bunch of brushes and some paint, determined to start making time in her busy days for expressing herself. “After a few lessons with Tim van Vuuren, I was back into expressing myself through paint. I pushed on challenging myself and learning as I went along, something which I am still very much doing. Painting is, after all, a continual journey of learning, growing and exploring”. If she could have done anything differently it would be to have started a whole lot earlier!

As a student in London, Judith spent a lot of time at the National Gallery. She was fascinated by the faces of the people from long ago and wondered about the hands that had crafted these beautiful art works; how these artists worked and the techniques they used. Later when I challenged myself to do a portrait I remembered these images and turned to the old masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt. I studied Vermeer’s, “Girl with a Pearl Earring” intently and painted my own copy. This was a huge turning point for me. As I attempted to replicate his brush strokes, tones and colours, something fell into place. I was hooked, hooked on painting and hooked on portraying the inner light of a person’s being”.