Cornelius Saayman – "Harvard Flypast"
Monday, April 15th, 2013Cornelius Saayman favors subjects in aviation, and has a deft, practiced hand with pencil drawings. In his paintings, he shows potential for daring choices and captivating design, as well as a marked penchant for the impressionistic.
"Harvard Flypast" is a representative pencil drawing, beautifully executed, of a historical naval plane with a handsome checkered decoration around its single propeller. This drawing measures 15″ by 11″, making it a good-sized work of art. The subject lends itself well to any den, a man’s bedroom or office, or certain commercial establishment’s walls.
Another pencil drawing on paper which Cornelius has published on SouthAfricanArtists.com is "Artist’s Expression." This is a super-closeup view of the tip of a 3B pencil, in all its graphic glory.
Working in mixed media, Cornelius created a piece called "Technology or Art?" Eight computer discs are the stars of the show here, each one unique and in varying degrees of erosion. They are lined up on dark brown ribbons, with a neutral grey background.
"Cape Snow 2008" is one of Cornelius’ most successful paintings. A large oil, it was executed strictly with the palette knife in striking primary and secondary colors. Cape Snow is so abstract that, were it not for the name, the viewer might not even recognize it as a landscape. The very fact that the artist is capable of such a vision, along with his precisely realistic pencil drawings of aircraft, speaks to his flexibility and willingness to fly beyond his own boundaries.