Born in South Africa, Jeandré Dednam is a self-taught artist inspired by an art history lecture he took about symbolism when getting his degree in graphic design.

Jeandré started drawing people’s portraits in charcoal sketches adding a mix of oil paint washes, and using color to complement the drawing.

Recently Jeandré started experimenting with abstract landscapes with elements formed by the free yet permanent qualities of charcoal to capture the shapes and patterns found in nature. Jeandré draws inspiration from nature, how the sun lights up the sky, the shadow that hides the unknown, the color combinations of coral and fish, and patterns of flower petals and leaves.

“The destination or final art piece is not as important as showing up. If I show up to my studio and confront the blank space, if I am willing to put down a mark and open up honestly to that moment in time, something magical happens. I can disappear from time, fear and thought for a brief moment. It is at this moment that I can become one with my subject. This act, this process of channeling emotion and creating is what is most important to me. Now if only I could just show up like my dog for a walk outside everyday.

Art, whether it leaves you with a taste, speaks a truth or incites emotion, opens a door in the viewer’s mind. It shows you how to shift your thoughts the way a cloud can change shape.

If ideas could be shaped and deconstructed as shapes, rearranged into a landscape, can the picture allow change? If a work of art can reflect a part of the artist’s soul, if a moment can be captured in the expression of a brush stroke, I hope to capture and share mine, if only to inspire one person to take part in the act of art.

A piece of art can create a window into another world, one that is shared and permitted by the artist and observer. “