Prolific
Portchie
Portchie is an unusual if not unique
phenomenon in South African contemporary art. He paints between 800
and 900 pieces a year and each is snapped up. Ten years ago he was a
transport economist with Spoornet.
He's unassuming, articulate to the point when he speaks with a
staccato burst of words and -just plain plucky. For Portchie is that
rarest of people, a man who discovered his calling fairly late in life
and then there was no holding him back. He is arguably the most
successful contemporary artist in South Africa.
There's a saying that the test of courage comes when you are in the
minority, the test of tolerance comes when you are in the majority.
Portchie took his courage in both hands in 1992 when he decided to
stake his name on his quick and undisputed ability with a brush and
canvas. Why was he so confident?
"I paint universal themes; children hop-scotching, people
riding bicycles, people reading - my art doesn't know any languages
and this means it is equally as popular in America, Germany, the
United Kingdom or South Africa," he says. "It is not
difficult to understand or appreciate."
But there is more to Portchie's work than an easy
understandability. Now that he is widely known around the world he has
an easy tolerance for others who, he concedes, may have tried as hard
but have not met with his astonishing success. A painting by Portchie
is always intensely colourful - he seems to see the world in terms of
warm yellows, vivid blues, bright reds, and intense greens. He says
that part of the secret is that he uses Grumbacher acrylics -
"the finest pigments of all paints in the world". What is
equally true is that his equable nature seems to have no room for
twilights, for half-shades or for shadow tones. For Portchie the world
is a bright, cheerful place and this contagion communicates itself
immediately with the viewer.
It is very obviously a universal appeal and Portchie has known
success ever since he started painting.
"About 10 years ago they started what was known as the
Randburg Rumble," he says. "This was a son of stroll around
that took you to all sorts of interesting places and I decided to put
a few of my paintings on exhibition. I put nine paintings up and sold
five. Then 1 put 15 up and sold nine. Then 21, with 14 sold. That gave
me tremendous encouragement.
"I then started exhibiting in my flat in Cresta (a
Johannesburg suburb) and a few years later I really took the plunge. I
was living in nearby Windsor and I had accumulated about 100 paintings
I wanted to show. I went to all my neighbours and asked them if I
could use their apartments as well as mine and they all agreed. It was
fantastic. I had up 100 works and everything was sold in the first
night!"
Portchie says he printed flyers to promote his "in house"
exhibitions and that first big showing attracted more than 500 people.
It was sufficient to help him decide to become a full- time painter
but now he needed a gallery, as obviously neighbours would not always
be so accommodating.
He says that after a particularly successful showing he was
approached by Alice of Alice Art Gallery who told him she would be
interested in showing a number of his works. "I remember 1 had
eight left and she bought five," he says.
No sooner had she got home in Ruimsig when I had a phone call. She
had already sold two. She wanted more! And that is how my long
relationship with Alice Art started. I went to her place and in those
days she was using only the front part of her premises. I said that
this would never do as I was preparing more than 100 pieces just for
my exhibition there. And so Alice said, "Well, we shall have to
show them around the house' and this is what she did. We had 800
people there for that exhibition and once again it was virtually sold
out the first night!"
Portchie, now aged 38,- had, in the meantime moved to Stellenbosch
where he intends opening his own display centre known as the Blue
Brush Gallery next year. He says that when he started in Stellenbosch
he also ran a guesthouse and the client base subsequently became his
mailing list - many of them addresses around the world. "You
would be surprised at how many of these people are still buying from
me," he says.
But he hasn't forgotten his patrons and friends in Gauteng and his
next major exhibition will be held at Alice An Gallery, Ruimsig, from
October 23 to October 27. "If you want something to really cheer
you up just come along and have a look," he says. "You don't
have to buy -just enjoy!"
Passie vir Portchie
Portchie se werke lewer ‘n ongewone en unieke bydrae tot Suid-Afrikaanse kontemporęre kuns. Hy skilder agthonderd stukke elke jaar en elkeen word opgeraap. Elf jaar gelede was hy ‘n vervoerekonoom by Spoornet.
Hy is plat op die aarde, maar tog eksentriek. Portchie is belese, intelligent en het ‘n aansteeklike energie. Hy is voorwaar ’n rare wese; ‘n man wat sy roeping laat in sy lewe ontdek het, maar toe was hy onkeerbaar. Volgens Stephen Welz van Sotheby SA word hy gereken as een van die suksesvolste hedendaagse skilders.
Dit wil gedoen word! Portchie het in 1992 verantwoordelikheid vir sy toekoms geneem toe hy sy naam, werk en reputasie gewaag het en hom gewend het tot sy handigheid met ‘n verfkwas. Waarom was hy so selfversekerd? “Ek verf universele temas; kinders wat wat touspring, mense wat fietsry, sit en lees – my kuns is nie taalgebonde nie en is ewe gewild in Amerika, Duitsland, Engeland en Suid-Afrika”, sę hy. “Dit is glad nie moeilik om te verstaan of te waardeer nie.” Portchie is regoor die węreld bekend.
Hy het simpatie met ander wat net so hard soos hy gewerk het, maar nie dieselfde sukses bereik het nie. ’n Portchie-skildery is altyd kleurvol – dis asof hy die węreld in warm geel, helder blou, bloedrooi en groen sien. Sy verf word dik en met passie aangewend. Hy sę sy sukses is deels daaraan te danke dat hy net die beste materiaal gebruik soos Grumbacher-akriele, wat hy beskryf as “die beste pigmente van al die verf in die węreld”. Dit is ook kenmerkend van sy werk dat daar nie skadus en donker hale of dun, besadigde verfhale in sy natuur lę nie.
Vir Portchie is die węreld ‘n helder, kleurvolle plek en die vrolike gemoedstemming word deur sy skildery weerspieël. Węreldwyd vind dit aanklank en Portchie se kuns was vanaf sy eerste kwashaal gewild.
Portchie bly deesdae in die hart van Stellenbosch, maar het nie sy vriende en aanhangers van werk in Gauteng vergeet nie. Sy volgende uitstalling is by Alice-kunsgalery in Ruimsig, vanaf 27 tot 29 Oktober.
Tuin Paleis - November 2006
PORTCHIE
Sinoniem met ultra-marine blou bome
Tussen die wit gewelhuise en groen eikelanings van Stellenbosch woon ‘n kunstenaar in ‘n opvallende pers-blou huis. Die kunstenaar is Portchie, wat seker geen bekendstelling meer nodig het in Suid-Afrika nie. Wie nog nie een van sy vrolike landskappe met baie blomme en blou bome gesien het nie, was lanklaas in ‘n kunsgalery. Die pers-blou huis is ook die tuiste van sy “Blue Brush” studio alhoewel mens hom meeste van die tyd kan opspoor in een van sy galerye in Kerkstraat, Stellenbosch. Hier in die “Red Teapot” galery staan hy en skilder en tussendeur gesels hy met almal wat inkom, of hulle nou wil koop of net wil kyk. Dit is hier waar ek die suksesvolle skidler vasgepen het en hom oor allerlei beuselagtighede uitgevra het.
Hy het grootgeword op Tweeling in die Vrystaat en dit was eers tydens sy hoërskooljare by Paul Roos op Stellenbosch, wat hy die bynaam “Porthcie” gekry het. Dit het gebeur toe sy klasmaats gehoor het dat sy familie met groente boer. Hulle doop hom “Portugees” wat dan later “Portchie” geword het.
Hy is ‘n vriendelike mens wat inspirasie vind in eenvoudige aktiwiteite. Dikwels is die tema van sy skilderye plattelandse kinders wat besig is om te speel. Telkens kom dit na vore dat kinders nie duur speelgoed nodig het om pret te hę nie. Hy glo in die mooi en vrolike dinge in die lewe. Soos sy ma gesę het: “As jy R2 het, koop ‘n rand se kos en ‘n rand se blomme want ‘n mens het kos vir jou siel ook nodig!” Hy hou van freesias en sy gunsteling kleur is ultra-marine blou. Hy hou van Italiaanse kos, veral handgemaakte pastas, tog is sy gunsteling land Mexico. Die helder kleure van Mexico het hom beďndruk, die kombinasies van skelpienk, turkoois en blou. In vergelyking daarmee is Stellenbosch se oorwegend wit huise vir hom derhalwe ‘n bietjie vaal. Gelukkig is daar darem Porthcie se helder skilderye wat daarvoor opmaak! Hy skilder vrolike skilderye met gelukkige kleure en in elke skildery verkoop by ‘n bietjie van sy eie lewensvreugde.
Hy sę die lewe is wat jy self daarvan maak, vaal of kleurvol... volgens jou eie palette. Sy gunsteling kunstenaars uit die verlede is Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Willem de Koning en Mark Rothko. Hy self het eers in 1992 begin skilder nadat twee vriende hom genooi het om ‘n studio te deel. Sy raad aan jong aspirant kunstenaars is om individuele style te hę, vas te byt met unieke werk en nie kortpad te probeer vat deur ander se tegnieke te kopieer nie. Vra ook verskeie mense se opinies oor jou werk en moenie eerlike raad in twyfel trek nie. Dit is ‘n moeilike pad om te volg maar uiteindelik sal jy die vrugte van jou toewyding pluk.
deur Hymne Laubscher
Kakkerlak – uitgawe 4 – 2005
