Marlise le Roux completed her B-Proc law degree at Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg, but the artist in her overpowered the lawyer. Now, several years on, combining equal measures of hard work and passion, she has grown into a formidable artist in her own right. She was already creating her own paintings in her mother’s studio from as early as age five, where she took her inspiration from the bright kaleidoscope and lurid brush strokes of her mother’s art. (Her mother is the renowned artist Isabel le Roux) In fact, from those early days of childish painting, Marlise had inadvertently set the stage for a colourful career as a future professional artist.
By applying her vibrant rich colours with gusto, she has sculpted a style that is distinctly individual. Her use of vivid colours always play a strong part in creating her compositions.
Her love for all things bright, a true Le Roux trademark, is evident in her paintings of lively fishermen’s vessels clustered together against a backdrop of dreamy pastel mountains, in her vivid renditions of the scenic Cape landscape dotted with little white Cape- Dutch houses, bustling farm workers in vineyards, rustic West Coast scenes and flourishing undergrowth of the Karoo. She also paints still lives, yet always splashes it with her signature colour code.
Marlise says her landscapes are intended to transport the viewer to a magical place, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, where the imagination is aroused and the senses are fondled. “My first requirement is that my art should enrich and touch the viewer on a personal level” she says.
Her evolving style is testimony to her continued individual growth as an artist. She has a strong work ethic and finds her daily painting routine equally soothing and stimulating – waking up to, and working in a world of colour and creativity is a powerful source of energy and is her celebration of life.
Her work is shipped all over the world and exhibited in galleries and private collections in South Africa, Ireland, United Kingdom and USA.